Transcript DRUG PROMOTION AND DEALING WITH THE REPS

Drug Promotion And Dealing
With The ‘Reps’
Neena Lakhani
Introduction
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Drug Promotion
NHS Standards
ABPI Code of Practice
Company Representatives
The ‘meeting’
Evaluating Product Information
Drug promotion by pharmaceutical
companies
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Journal advertisements
Mailings
Sponsored meetings
Gifts
Direct-to-consumer advertising
Company representative visits
NHS Standards
Commercial Sponsorship – Ethical
Standards for the NHS (Nov 2000)
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who is the guidance aimed at?
sponsorship, inducements and hospitality
research and development
potential conflict of interest
Advertising Regulation
Advertising is controlled by both:
• Medicines and Health Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) - Statutory (legal)
• Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) - Selfregulation
ABPI Code of Practice
• Applies to 80 UK pharmaceutical
companies
• Covers all areas of promotion by the
pharmaceutical industry
• Not legally binding
Code for Representatives
• ABPI Code of Practice - covers oral
information, as well as written
• Must be adequately trained
• Must not give misleading information
• Must not offer inducement to gain
interview
• Must not cause inconvenience
• Provision of hospitality
Guidance for Representatives
Local policies may exist relating to:
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Appointment system for meeting clinicians
Leaving samples of medicines
Sponsorship of educational meetings
Frequency of meetings
Why see reps?
• Freebies!
• Gather (and give) current and new
information
• Sell company products
• Inform and educate professionals
Is the information credible?
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Can be misleading
Promotes non-rational prescribing
Decreases generic prescribing
Increases awareness of new drugs but
without the evidence
• Increases prescribing costs
Some useful facts
• Oral presentations
• Written literature
‘The meeting’
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What’s in it for me?
Be selective
By appointment with time limits
Be in control
Prepare standard questions
Beware of bold statements & ‘glossys’
Your 5 Questions
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What evidence/studies back up the claimed
benefit/effect of the drug being promoted?
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Is the study design valid?
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Is the result statistically significant?
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What are the Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) and the
Number Needed to Treat (NNT) to avoid one event
over a certain time period?
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Are the graphs telling the truth?
If NO: do you want to continue?
Points to consider:
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Safety
Tolerability
Effectiveness
Price
One STEP better?
The way forward
• A policy for seeing reps
– ? No free lunches?
• Education meetings with different peer groups
• Challenge different reps promoting similar
products
• Restrict sponsored events
• Brush up on critical appraisal skills
• Use PCT prescribing advisors for unbiased,
evidence based information and educational
outreach
On line activity
Source the following article
Evans, J. Establishing Rules of the
Road for Pharmaceutical
Representatives Fam Pract
Manag. 2005 Mar;12(3):10-12.
Join the Forum during the next week to discuss and
reflect in issues raised the General Practitioner in the
article
References
• Department of Health (2000). Commercial
sponsorship – ethical standards for the NHS.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/group
s/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digit
alasset/dh_4076078.pdf (accessed July
2011)
• Evans, J. Establishing Rules of the Road for
Pharmaceutical Representatives Fam Pract
Manag. 2005 Mar;12(3):10-12.
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