Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15210

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: Journal Article

Collier J.
Reframing relations with Pharma: Author’s reply
BMJ 2009 Feb 24; 338:(7693):b768
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/338/feb24_1/b768

Abstract:

Richard Horton’s letter serves only to strengthen my view that his working party and its processes were flawed.1 2 He does not quibble with most of my observations. His two concerns are with my comments that “the interests of patients seem to have been a secondary consideration,” and that “there is little direct criticism of industry.”

Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), in his foreword prioritised the need to create new partnerships between industry, academia, clinicians, and the public. Assuming that the public and patients are interchangeable in this context, and that partnership means a relationship among equals, it might follow that the report would make recommendations on how, for example, patients, industry, the NHS, and doctors should work together as equals on key issues of policy and decision making. However, of the dozen or so patient related recommendations, patients feature as subjects of a real partnership . . .