The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7470 p316
22 September 2007

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Complaints up after new ABPI code launched

Complaints to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority about the promotion of medicines rose substantially in the year after the code was revised and promoted heavily to potential complainants. The new code came into effect in January 2006.

The number of complaints received by the authority last year was 134 compared with 101 the year before. But the number of individual allegations in those complaints changed little — 272 in 2006 and 275 in 2005.

The increase in the number of complaints was not mirrored by a rise in the number of allegations that were upheld. Only 57 per cent of allegations were upheld in 2006, compared with 80 per cent in 2005.

Heather Simmonds, director of the PMCPA, said: “The implementation of the 2006 code has reinforced the [pharmaceutical] industry’s commitment to, and support of, self-regulation. Successful self-regulation depends on transparency and meaningful sanctions.

“The swifter publication of detailed reports on completed cases and the disclosure of brief details about ongoing cases are important factors in the maintenance of effective self-regulation.”

The revised code was introduced in January 2006 accompanied by a campaign to raise its profile among health professionals.

Details of the code, and ongoing and completed cases, can be found on the PMCPA website