The MEDVERSATION® web application has been designed and developed to help improve the quality of important conversations between health care professionals and patients. We believe these conversations are an important part of managing any disease. The information in the site is organized into four dimensions that we believe are necessary to have informed conversations about any disease: the natural progression of disease, the potential benefits of treatments, the potential risks of treatments, and an understanding of how each of these dimensions should be analyzed in context with the others. We have done this because we want all patients to get treatment when it is right for them, regardless of whether or not the treatment is ours.
The MEDVERSATION® web application contains information about potential benefits of treatments, and the natural progression of diseases for which Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. manufactures FDA-approved therapies. Additionally, MEDVERSATION® contains a Benefit:Risk Analysis section, designed to help physicians evaluate benefit and risk information.
Further, the MEDVERSATION® web application provides tools to help manage the information, such as emailing portions of the content to others, storing information for later retrieval, and full content searching.
We hope you find MEDVERSATION® a useful tool in your clinical practice.
- Why did Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. create MEDVERSATION®?
- How was the content on MEDVERSATION® developed?
- How often is the content updated?
- How is MEDVERSATION® organized?
- Are all of the FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. discussed in detail in MEDVERSATION®?
- Other than FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., does the MEDVERSATION® web application focus on any other drug therapies?
- How can users provide feedback on the site?
- How is personal information from users handled?
Why did Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. create MEDVERSATION®?
Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. believes in the products we market. At the same time, we know and respect, that you, the health care professional, are relied on for your own unbiased and professional medical opinion. To that end, we have tried to construct a useful resource for you to consider the multiple dimensions of individual medical decisions that involve our products — the need to consider the natural progression of the disease, possible treatments, and to make sense of vast amounts of complex information about the benefits and risks of treatments.
How was the content on MEDVERSATION® developed?
Medical professionals at Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. wrote and built MEDVERSATION®. Specialists from Benefit:Risk Initiatives, Medical Communications, Medical Information, Health Outcomes Research, as well as Clinical Scientists, Medical Science Liaisons, Medical Directors, and Epidemiologists across the Medical Affairs Department provided expertise in researching, writing, and reviewing website content. Additionally, some contracted personnel assisted in these activities, and some content resources were licensed or purchased.
Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. authored the content and organized the information in a way that is easy to navigate. The established ideal was to be objective and unbiased. Despite our best efforts, we acknowledge that it is not possible to be completely objective and unbiased. In addition, the information may not be complete because as a pharmaceutical company we must abide by rules of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which, among other things, require that we only discuss FDA-approved uses.
In order to keep the site as balanced as possible, we will acknowledge throughout the site the sources of data, including internal sources for data on file. Wherever possible, we have licensed or purchased or were granted permission to use tables and graphs directly from articles and we have not altered them in any way. In addition, we have included links to abstracts of all citations utilized on the site, and where available, users can choose to view the articles themselves. As you read the content throughout the site, you will notice that the material in the various topics is derived from different types of data sources. We encourage you to read the data sources to ensure that the information is presented in a balanced way. If you find problems with the content on the site, we encourage you to let us know via the Contact Us feature within the site.
As a pharmaceutical company, Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. produces internal company documents that are submitted to regulatory agencies, like the FDA, for approval of drug or biologic products. An example may be an Integrated Summary of Safety (ISS) found in a New Drug Application (NDA) or Biologics License Application (BLA), or other sources. These reports are routinely generated by manufacturers, such as Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., and are submitted to regulatory authorities around the world on a periodic basis. Over time, the information in each report may change depending on the issues identified by regulatory authorities and the companies. Consequently, the data available for inclusion in this site may differ by reporting period.
Every topic within the sections “Natural History of Disease,“ “Risks of Treatments,“ and “Benefits of Treatments“ has a section entitled “Search Information“. We encourage you to refer to this section to understand more about how the source information was selected. It also includes information about important limitations that have been encountered by Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. in the construction of the content of the site. Importantly, you should understand that communications from drug and biologic manufacturers are subject to Federal regulations enforced by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that can limit how and what our company can communicate about its products and the products of other manufacturers. For these reasons, this site focuses on the presentation of information that relates to the FDA-approved uses of the products discussed. Measures have also been taken by Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. to ensure that Benefit and Risk information presented on this site are consistent with the FDA-approved prescribing information (or labeling) for the product(s) discussed.
To learn more about FDA regulations for prescription drugs, please visit the “Benefit:Risk Analysis“ section of MEDVERSATION® or visit www.FDA.gov.
Any links to outside websites are being provided to users via links. These links are being provided as a convenient source of additional information only and not as endorsements.
How often is the content updated?
Content is periodically reviewed for updates several times a year, and breaking news topics will be included as quickly as 24 hours after the new information becomes publically available. Content that has been updated within the site will be identified to you in the “What’s New” feature on the product homepages. In addition, content stored by you in the 'My Saved Content' will be automatically updated when content has been changed. Notifications will be sent via email alerts to those who choose to receive the opt-in alert emails (review our Privacy Policy).
If you find problems with the content on the site, we encourage you to let us know via the Contact Us feature.
How is MEDVERSATION® organized?
MEDVERSATION® is divided into four main areas:
Natural History of Disease: What happens as the disease progresses?
Benefits of Treatments: What information is available about the benefits of FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.?
Risks of Treatments: What is the available risk information for FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.?
Benefit:Risk Analysis: How are benefit and risk information analyzed by experts and in what context should data be viewed?
The MEDVERSATION® web application contains content designed for health care professionals as well as condensed content in consumer-friendly language for health care professionals to review and use as deemed appropriate.
Are all of the FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. discussed in detail in MEDVERSATION®?
At the present time, MEDVERSATION® contains information about potential benefits of treatments, potential risks of treatments, and the natural history of diseases or conditions for which Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. markets FDA-approved therapies.
Other than FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., does the MEDVERSATION® web application focus on any other drug therapies?
Not at this time. MEDVERSATION® currently discusses the potential benefits and potential risks of FDA-approved products from Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. If you are seeking information regarding products from other pharmaceutical companies, we recommend that you consult them directly. The authoritative and official source of information for all marketed products is the full prescribing information (PI).
How can users provide feedback on the site?
We want your Feedback on all aspects of MEDVERSATION®: content, design, navigation, and areas for improvement. Please tell us if you like what you’re seeing, and tell us if we’ve inadvertently omitted something. Please contact us with any comments, corrections, or suggestions via the Contact Us feature or by calling 1-877-MEDVERHELP (1-877-633-8374). We may not always make the changes you suggest; however, we pledge that we will make changes if we agree and we are able to make the changes.
If you would like to submit a user review of the MEDVERSATION® web application, please review the Editorial Policy within the Community area.
For reporting adverse events or product quality complaints, please refer to the Contact Us feature.
How is personal information from users handled?
This website is intended for US health care professionals only. Registration and collection of personal information is required only to save information on protected servers for later retrieval (such as customized handouts and preferences), and to save customized views and alerts. We will collect only aggregate data for site quality and improvement purposes. You will not be contacted as a result of providing information on MEDVERSATION® unless you ask to be contacted via feedback mechanisms, or you choose to receive email alerts. If you choose to cancel your registration, your information will be deleted.
For detailed information, click the Privacy Policy link at the bottom of any page in the site.