Three firms bring discredit on the pharmaceutical industry
Activities of three pharmaceutical companies or their representatives brought discredit on the pharmaceutical industry, according to the latest issue of the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority's Code
of Practice Review.
A Scottish local health board prescribing adviser complained that Bayer
Healthcare had promoted a meeting about the management of erectile dysfunction
by offering a champagne reception and a gourmet dinner. The PMCPA ruled
a breach of Clause 2 of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical
Industry’s code of practice — the most serious breach possible.
The adviser had received an invitation to the meeting, which included
copies of the menu and an offer of transport to and from the meeting.
Merck Pharmaceuticals was also found to have breached Clause 2 of the
code after a representative extracted the names and addresses of patients
with low levels of high density lipoprotein from a GP practice database
and sent them a letter dictated by the GP, but not signed by him. The
GP had allowed access to the database, but no written records were kept.
In the third case — also a Clause 2 breach — a representative
of Merck Sharp & Dohme had left a business card bearing a hand-written
invitation for drinks on the windscreen of a car in a surgery car park.
The intended target of the invitation had been a 14-year old female patient
attending the surgery with her parents. The representative had believed
the young woman to be an adult. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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