Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15214

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

Ball DR, Kamel Y, Perkins V.
Reframing relations with Pharma: Entanglement in Scotland
BMJ 2009 Feb 24; 338:(7693):b763
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/338/feb24_1/b763

Abstract:

We surveyed all anaesthetic departments in Scotland to assess links between anaesthetists and companies through sponsored “free lunches.“1 After institutional approval, one of us (YK) telephoned all 34 anaesthetic departments in April 2008. A standardised questionnaire was used and the respondents remained anonymous.

There were two refusals, giving a response rate of 94%. Twenty six of the 32 respondents had sponsored meetings. In all, 21 received food, while one was unsure; 22 accepted gifts. Two had more than one meeting a week, four had one meeting a week, six more than one meeting a month, six a monthly meeting, and three less than one meeting a month. Two described their contact as variable, one was unsure, and one had meetings by invitation only.

Only two of the 32 departments replied that they followed a guideline for these contacts-one its hospital policy and the other its own internal guidance.

In the . . .

dball@nhs.net