The panel will present its draft statement to the public for comment at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18. Following this public comment session, the panel will release its revised consensus statement at a news conference at 1 p.m. and take questions from the media. Dr. Kupfer will moderate the news conference. The consensus statement is the report of an independent panel and is not a policy statement of the NIH or the Federal Government.
The NIH Consensus Development Program was established in 1977 as a form of "science court" to resolve in an unbiased manner controversial topics in medicine. To date, NIH has conducted 108 such conferences addressing a wide range of controversial medical issues important to health care providers, patients, and the general public. An average of six consensus conferences is held each year.
Additional information about this conference, including the meeting agenda, local area hotels, and directions to NIH, is available at the NIH Consensus Development Program Web site at http://consensus.nih.gov. To register for the conference, call 301-592-3320, send e-mail to DHD@ProspectAssoc.com, or visit the Web site.
NOTE TO TV EDITORS: The news conference at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18 will be broadcast live via satellite on the following coordinates: Galaxy 6, Transponder 12.
NOTE TO RADIO EDITORS: An audio report of the conference results will be available November 18-25, 1998 from the NIH Radio News Service by calling 1-800-MED-DIAL (1-800-633-3425).