Healthy Skepticism Library item: 20050

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: Magazine

Jenkins R
Group urges doctors to say no to gifts
Australian Doctor 2006 May 124

Full text:

FREE drug samples, gifts and entertainment from industry can influence doctors

practice and should be refused, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians is recommending.

In revised ethical guidelines, launched at its conference in Cairns this week, the RACP also advised doctors to carefully consider sponsorship offers to attend conferences or educational meetings.

RACP president Associate Professor Jill Sewell said in the six years since the college

s last guidelines, substantial evidence had emerged suggesting that even small gifts from industry could affect clinical practice.

It is the responsibility of health care professionals to ensure that their relationship does not affect their clinical practice,

”

she said.

The guidelines include specific recommendations in relation to medical students, advising that training programs should include discussion about industry and conflicts of interest.

Organisations such as divisions of general practice are encouraged to develop ethics groups and guidelines to advise practitioners.

Associate Professor Malcolm Parker, associate professor of medical ethics at the University of Queensland, said ultimately individual doctors had to decide for themselves.

I expect there would be some negative response to this because people think there is nothing wrong with accepting some samples or small gifts,” he said.