Healthy Skepticism Library item: 5888

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Publication type: news

Abbott supports freebies for doctors to be regulated
Sydney Morning Herald 2006 Aug 17
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/freebies-for-doctors-to-be-regulated/2006/08/17/1155407949242.html

Full text:

Abbott supports freebies for doctors to be regulated

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/freebies-for-doctors-to-be-regulated/2006/08/17/1155407949242.html

August 17, 2006 – 6:47PM

Health Minister Tony Abbott supports the consumer watchdog’s push to
make pharmaceutical companies more transparent about freebies for doctors.

Pharmaceutical representative group Medicines Australia yesterday
announced it would appeal a demand that it tighten its code of conduct
and declare free meals and other hospitality given to doctors.

Concerns have been raised that the freebies may influence doctors to
prescribe the companies’ products over competitor’s cheaper medicines,
conflicting with their patients’ best interests.

Doctors practice under their own code of conduct.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in July approved its
updated code of conduct for pharmaceutical companies, which provides
guidelines for marketing and promoting prescription medicines in
Australia, subject to the new condition.

But Medicines Australia said it was appealing the condition because it
would create a layer of ineffective red tape and had no precedent in
other Australian industries or the global pharmaceutical industry.

Mr Abbott today said he thought it was very important that ethical
standards be maintained.

“There are, as I understand it, ethical standards in place,” he said.

“There has been, as I understand it, quite an appropriate push to
tighten up some of these standard and I support that, I encourage that.”

Mr Abbott said he was not fully briefed on the Medicines Australia and
ACCC dispute and did not feel he could comment, except to say he thought
it was “important there be ethical standards”.

“They should be high ethical standards and they should be adhered to,”
he said.

Australian Medical Association President Dr Mukesh Haikerwal said the
peak doctors’ body believed the code of conduct was an important
document that should govern the way pharmaceutical companies approach
the medical profession.

“We have our own ethical guidelines as to how to deal with the
pharmaceutical industry and we think those guidelines need to be adhered
to,” he said.

“Whether an additional layer of bureaucracy is of any benefit, I think
that’s what the appeal is about, and that’s a matter for Medicines
Australia to deal with the ACCC about.”