Healthy Skepticism Library item: 20063

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

Limprecht E
Harbour cruises sunk as GP education
Australian Doctor 2006 Mar 24
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/harbour-cruises-sunk-as-gp-education

Full text:

A DRUG company has been banned from taking Australian doctors on harbour cruises in the continuing crackdown on the use of allegedly luxurious entertainment venues for GP educational meetings.

The warning by Medicines Australia’s code of conduct committee came after Baxter Healthcare took Australian doctors on a harbour cruise in Auckland, New Zealand. None of the GPs had been flown to New Zealand by the company.

Although the company was not fined, it was warned by the committee not to use harbour cruises as venues for educational meetings in the future. Under the code of conduct hospitality provided to doctors should be “simple and modest”

Another company, Biogen Idec Australia, was also brought before the committee after it held an educational event in one of Australia’s most expensive restaurants, the Flower Drum in Melbourne. The committee found no breach of the code, although it said the venue – awarded restaurant of the year by the Age newspaper last year – “did cause some concern”

Biogen Idec said the educational component of the event lasted more than one hour, and the event was held in a private function room and the hospitality was not sumptuous.

In the six months to December 2005, 15 complaints were dealt with and $155,000 in fines handed out to pharmaceutical companies by the code of conduct committee.