Letters
Ethics
Volume 190 - Issue 8

Patients expect transparency in doctors’ relationships with the pharmaceutical industry

Authors:  Martin H N Tattersall and Aneta Dimoska

Med J Aust 2009; 190 (8): 459-461. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02507.x
Published online: 20 April 2009
Download PDF (84 KB)
Share: Share on Blue Sky Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share by email

In reply: We thank Cole for her suggestions. We note the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Guidelines for ethical relationships between physicians and industry state: “Industry sponsorship to attend conferences ... should usually be restricted to those in which the professional anticipates active engagement ... and when attendance without support is not possible”.1

With regard to Dalton and Richards’ first point, our survey asked patients for their views about doctors in general and not specifically about general practitioners.2 We do agree that disclosure would be most valuable if definitions for categories of relationships and payments were agreed on. Unfortunately, the options we presented to patients in our survey did not include disclosure being presented on a website, a method that has recently been launched by the Cleveland Clinic in the United States.3 A US Senate Bill, if enacted, would require health companies to report all their financial links with doctors on a government website.4

The potential benefits of physician–industry collaboration were not presented in our survey. Obviously, having doctors advise the pharmaceutical industry is likely to be beneficial, but is it appropriate to continue relationships where industry is advising or educating doctors?

Notable among the 41 recommendations of a report from a Royal College of Physicians working party in the United Kingdom, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of the Lancet, are: the promotion of standards for prescribing at postgraduate level; a method for gradually ending the support of the pharmaceutical industry in the education of doctors in training; and any honorarium and fee, commercial or otherwise, paid to a doctor should be declared on a publicly accessible website.5

We strongly support any interventions that enhance the quality use of medicines.

Authors

  • Martin H N Tattersall1
  • Aneta Dimoska1
  • 1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: mtatt@med.usyd.edu.au

References

View this article on Wiley Online Library

More like this

View more