Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2537
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: news
Donnell R.
No Free Lunch may be striking a nerve with professional societies
Dr R W Donnell's Blogspot 2005 Sep 19
http://doctorrw.blogspot.com/2005/09/no-free-lunch-may-be-striking-nerve_19.html
Notes:
Ralph Faggotter’s Comments: Here is the full U-turn Press Release from the AAFP (It can also be found at http://www.aafp.org/x38241.xml )
Note: “This decision became even more evident through discussions which will assure that No Free Lunch will fully abide by the exhibitor rules and regulations of the AAFP annual convention …”
Here Dr Henley tries to get some revenge by implying that Bob Goodman is somehow unstable and dangerous and has only been accepted on the proviso that he doesn’t run amok at the conference!
AAFP Approves No Free Lunch Application to Exhibit at Annual Meeting Printer-friendly version Email this page
NEWS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2005
Statement attributable to:
Douglas E. Henley, M.D.
Executive Vice President
American Academy of Family Physicians
“After further discussion and dialogue between the American Academy of Family Physicians and No Free Lunch, and following thoughtful comments to the AAFP from many of its members, the application for No Free Lunch to exhibit at the AAFP’s upcoming annual meeting has been approved.
This decision became even more evident through discussions which will assure that No Free Lunch will fully abide by the exhibitor rules and regulations of the AAFP annual convention and Exposition. This is a positive solution for the Academy and its membership.â€
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Note to journalists: To interview Dr. Henley, please contact (Mr.) Lindsay Shannon at (800) 274-2237, Ext. 5222, or by e-mail at lshannon@aafp.org.
Full text:
Monday, September 19, 2005
No Free Lunch may be striking a nerve with professional societies
No Free Lunch has been knocking on the doors of exhibit halls at national doctors’ meetings lately. They believe the abundance of pharmaceutical company displays, gifts and “detailing” at these meetings could have a bad influence on doctors and would like an opportunity to do some counter-detailing, but so far the doctors have said “no, thanks.” Recently the American Academy of Family Physicians refused to allow No Free Lunch to operate an exhibit at its upcoming annual meeting.
Earlier this year the American College of Physicians (ACP) refused a similar request from No Free Lunch to exhibit at its meeting. The College has extensive pharmaceutical company displays and giveaways at its meetings in spite of its own position paper, which strongly discourages acceptance of gifts from industry. Evidently the No Free Lunchers merely wanted to remind attendees of the ACP’s own guidelines concerning the displays, so, banned from the exhibit hall, their supporters busied themselves outside handing out cards bearing a printed a summary of the guidelines. Apparently the ACP wasn’t amused.
Although the ACP position paper vaguely allows some wiggle room to consider acceptance of small gifts from drug companies, their former ethics director, Dr. William Golden, in a statement to American Medical News, once said “Our guidelines are slightly different than the AMA. We chose not to set a dollar value for a gift. We discourage all gifts.”
Founded in 1999 by internist Robert Goodman, M.D., No Free Lunch urges physicians to distance themselves from drug company marketing. I have followed their activities for several years. While agreeing with the basic premise of the organization I find some of their methods extreme. In the heated debate about physicians’ relationships with drug companies I take a moderate position, and have mixed feelings about the meeting exhibits.
The ACP can offer extraordinary educational content at its national meeting for an affordable registration fee only with the support of the pharmaceutical industry. Why throw the baby out with the bath water? On the other hand, if they choose to allow such elaborate promotions and freebies perhaps they should be more circumspect in their denunciation of them. As No Free Lunch has brought to light, the ACP has a credibility problem. They can’t have it both ways.
posted by R. W. Donnell @ 7:00 AM
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