When important information on the safety of medicines needs to reach healthcare professionals quickly, marketing authorisation holders send out Direct Healthcare Professional Communications (DHPC) in cooperation with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Icelandic Medicines Agency (IMA). The letters are sent simultaneously in all countries where needed.

DHPCs are used to communicate information on:

• Withdrawal or revocation of a medicine's marketing authorisation for safety reasons

• Important changes to marketing authorisations, e.g. restriction of indications, new contraindications, new warnings, changes to the recommended dose or instructions for use

• Medicine shortages

• Quality issues related to the manufacture of medicines

The recipients of the letters are determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the medicine concerned and the new information. The most common recipients are general practitioners, specialist physicians, nurses, and community and hospital pharmacists.

Joint logo identifies educational material and Direct Healthcare Professional Communications

IMA and Frumtök have jointly had a logo designed to identify, on the one hand, educational material required as a condition of the marketing authorisation of certain medicines and, on the other hand, Direct Healthcare Professional Communications. Most marketing authorisation holders of medicines marketed in Iceland are parties to the agreement. The logo thus helps healthcare professionals recognise mailings containing important safety information as distinct from marketing authorisation holders' advertising and promotional material.

IMA encourages marketing authorisation holders that are not already parties to the agreement to join, see guidelines.