Healthy Skepticism Library item: 20073

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
Bateman pledges to cut 'annoying' ad distractions
Australian Doctor 2005 July 13
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/bateman-pledges-to-cut---8216;annoying--8217;-ad-d

Full text:

THE owner of Medical Director has said he will reduce the distractions caused by drug advertisements on the software system, admitting he found such advertising annoying.

But Dr Edmund Bateman, the wealthiest GP in Australia, described as “Chicken Littles” critics who claimed that running drug ads on the system was unethical.

It is the first time Dr Bateman has spoken in detail on the issue since his company Primary Health Care took over Health Communication Network, the firm behind Medical Director, in February.

In a letter to GP users of the software, Dr Bateman wrote:

“While one might like to think that we are not influenced by advertising, the facts indicate this is not so. I think the main influence of advertising for GPs is more to direct brand choice rather than excess or inappropriate use.”

He added:

“I personally find advertising on software programs annoying however, it subsidises the price of [Medical Director].”

With Medical Director 3 due out in August, he pledged to “modify ad formats” that had slowed “practice provision”, but has yet to disclose details.

Medical Director critics such as Dr Ken Harvey, senior lecturer in public health at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, claim the drug ads encourage GPs to over-prescribe, especially expensive brand drugs, fuelling the spiralling costs of the PBS.

Dr Bateman told Australian Doctor: “I strongly agree that we should reduce the cost of the PBS and encourage doctors to prescribe brands that save money. This should not be confused with the need to have patents, brands and advertising to establish those brand names to produce medications that will provide benefits. If this is not available, we won’t have the drugs we need that eventually become generics.”

And he said it was a “strange double-standard” for critics to want to remove ads from Medical Director and not from medical journals and newspapers, including Australian Doctor.

Dr Rosanna Capolingua, AMA ethics and medicolegal committee chairwoman, said: “We say enough. No more pharmaceutical advertising on clinical software… I would like to believe it does not influence the actual number of scripts written, however, it does influence brand choice and worse, it interferes with the doctor and patient during the consultation.”