Dangerous Documents101: When a Shredder Isn't Enough, There's a Preventive Course

Jan. 13, 2009

Computer documents have been the downfall of many a company---think Enron.  And things as basic as date and author stamps and wording became very important in Merck's Vioxx case.

Computer documents have been the downfall of many a company---think Enron.  And things as basic as date and author stamps and wording became very important in Merck's Vioxx case.

Now, for just under $1000, you can take a course "Dangerous Documents: Avoiding Land Mines in Your FDA Records and Emails" and learn how to avoid sensitive email problems that can come back to haunt you.  A sample rewrite:  instead of saying "let's meet tomorrow to destroy the documents," why not try  "let's get together to discuss our document retention policy." 

Marketing emails might be less of a problem, as in "The pink cupcakes and samples will be ready for the staff office parties next week."  But one wonders how adverse events might be rewritten.  "There have been reports alleging some minor collateral damage"....Or GMP problems such as nonexistent CAPA data...."we are not aware of any quality complaints"

A recent piece by Reuters' Bill Berkrot discusses the course in greater detail.

Sounds interesting, but isn't there a better idea? How about honesty?

AMS

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