The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that it will change the leaflets it pairs with pharma labels in order to make them easier to understand for patients.

After a five-year research period, it has been decided that the pamphlets which slip inside drug packaging use language that is too rigid and are not clear enough about how medicines should be administered for children.

The EMA's 2009 report called for clear information that is easy to understand, so the organisation is now to rephrase its templates and add new sections providing more information about a drug's benefits.

It is hoped clear leaflets used alongside succinct printed labels on the outside of packaging will make the use of medicine safer and more effective.

The new templates are available in all the languages for the European Union and an implementation plan has also been drawn up.

This comes after a study in the US in June found that many consumers were receiving conflicting information about drug side-effects from packaging, Consumer Reports Health stated.

Denny Bros Ltd, 02 August 2011