Pharma targeting nurses
April 5, 2016
HOSPITAL-BASED nursing staff
are being targeted by drugmakers
to influence hospital purchasing
decisions, according to new
research released by the University
of Sydney’s Faculty of Pharmacy
and Charles Perkins Centre.
The study of 56 nurses working in
four US-based acute care hospitals
over a two year period between
2012 and 2014 saw participants
report an average of 13 interactions
with industry representatives.
The faculty’s Dr Quinn Grundy
said while medical devices were a
key focus of the meetings, more
than half of the interactions were
with pharmaceutical reps while
21% related to health technology.
“Most study participants - 64 per
cent - cited examples where nurses
had influenced treatment and
purchasing decisions,” Grundy said.
“The scope of practice of nurses
in Australia is similar to nurses in
the United States...they have similar
decision-making and influential
roles within healthcare so they are
desirable marketing targets.”
Most of the respondents
acknowledged benefits in working
with industry representatives,
with more than a quarter noting it
would not be possible to do their
jobs without industry resources.
“For example, nurse educators
coordinated in-service education
with sales representatives on every
newly purchased product, nurse
managers relied heavily on sales
representatives when selecting
products for purchases, and staff
nurses worked alongside sales
representatives on a daily basis
during surgery,” Grundy said.
However 70% of nurses reported
challenges with these relationships,
such as struggling to ensure sales
reps adhered to hospital policy,
biased information sources,
the introduction of unapproved
devices, lack of accountability for
product failure, and threats to
patient safety and privacy.
Medicines Australia figures from
the first half of 2009 indicated
that nurses were present at
about a quarter of the 14,649
pharmaceutical sponsored
educational events in that period.
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