Pharmacy Daily | Campaign against drs meeting pharma

A GROUP of doctors is launching a campaign to put an end to doctors meeting pharmaceutical company representatives tomorrow. Called No Advertising Please, the campaign will see the more than 50 doctors pledge to ban pharmaceutical representatives from “educational” visits. The campaign cites research that doctors receiving information from pharmaceutical companies was associated with increases in prescriptions of promoted drugs, decreased quality of prescribing and increased costs. Spokesperson Dr Justin Coleman said the campaign did not seek to demonise pharmaceutical companies but to discourage routine acceptance of drug promotion in this way. Medicines Australia chairman Dr Martin Cross said the campaign was misguided and potentially dangerous, likening the pledge to having open heart surgery knowing the surgeon hadn’t been taught to use the equipment. A company rep needed to understand and respond to a GP’s needs, including journal articles and receiving feedback about use of medicines, he said.

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