Prescribing & Medicines Management
Issue no 1, p3
January/February 2003

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Pharmacists warned not to accept fees when working with industry

Pharmacists have been warned not to accept fees or inducements for agreeing to meet representatives of the pharmaceutical industry.

The warning comes in new guidance published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britian on working with the industry. It says that pharmacists should be aware of the ethical and professional standards governing good relationships at all times, and that they should look for the benefits to patients of partnership working before seeking agreement.

The guidance has been written in recognition that many more pharmacists are likely to come into contact with pharmaceutical industry representatives.

The guidance says that the way health care is delivered is 'rapidly changing' leading to expanded roles for pharmacists in providing advice and support on prescribing issues relevant to PCTs, LHGs and LHCCs, as well as individual general practices.

Because of this, pharmacists can expect much more contact with industry representatives and could draw on companies' expertise in disease areas for mutual benefit and the benefit of patients, it adds.

However, the Society's guidance advises pharmacists to adopt a fair and balanced approach to evaluating products and treatments from different companies, and to consider all treatment options available, documenting any reasoning behind decisions to recommend particular products.

The guidance advises pharmacists only to accept appropriate levels of hospitality for attending educational meetings and conferences. 'Costs should not exceed the level that recipients would adopt if they were paying for themselves,' states the document.

An extensive section on commercial sponsorship points out that industry can offer support to NHS organisations, but that pharmacists should consider several points before agreeing arrangements.

These include ensuring clear benefits to patients, best value service provision for the resources available, and that all parties are clear about each others' expectations of the arrangement.

The guidance is available as a PDF file (30K).

  * PDF files on PJ Online require Acrobat Reader 4 or later.