Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13940

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Advertising Group Criticizes Pfizer's Medical Education Grant Policy
FDA Week 2008 Jul 11
http://www.therapeuticsdaily.com/news/article.cfm?contentValue=1809222&contentType=sentryarticle&channelID=33

Full text:

An advertising trade group backed by the drug industry is urging drug makers not to follow Pfizer’s lead in eliminating direct funding to medical education courses offered by third parties. Some lawmakers view continuing medical education courses as a back door for off-label promotion, but the Coalition for Healthcare Communication says the accredited courses offer excellent education and have an unmatched record for avoiding financial conflicts.

Pfizer last week became the first commercial supporter of CME to stop directly funding the programs. The decision responded to criticism that drug makers are influencing doctors’ prescribing practices.

“We understand that even the appearance of conflicts in CME is damaging and we are determined to take actions that are in the best interests of patients and physicians,” a Pfizer release states.

The Coalition for Healthcare Communication sees it differently. It says Pfizer’s decision is “an honest but misguided” attempt to blunt criticism and hurts a good venue for doctors to stay abreast of medical research.

“Unfortunately, this decision supports much of the misinformed criticism of the industry, flies in the face of objective evidence and does not address the true challenges facing health care providers and patients today,” the coalition states.

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) reported in 2006 that accredited medical education companies lead all other accredited providers in complying with standards of commercial support.

The coalition argues that fully disclosing financial ties is the best way to manage conflicts of interest. Cutting those ties altogether curbs the innovation that commercial CME providers bring to medical education, the group says.

Eli Lilly was the first company to promise to disclose how much it spends on CME. In May 2007, the company announced that it would post all educational grants online. Ranking Senate Finance Committee Republican Charles Grassley (IA), who has been one of the most aggressive critics of industry-sponsored CME, quickly urged others to follow suit.

Senate Finance issued a report last year that concluded the drug industry pays $1 billion annually in educational grants to promote their products.