Category Archives: pharmaceutical industry

Advertising a prescription medicine to the general public: what’s going on?

May 7, 2012 – 6:16 pm

This full-page ad ran in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph. There has been some chat on the Australian Healthcare Communicators Network to the effect that this looks very much like direct to consumer advertising (access for those on LinkedIn). The Medicines Australia Code of Conduct, edition 16: states that: 12.1 General principles The promotion of products covered by [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health & medical marketing, Media-related issues | Tagged , | Comments (5)

Will social media prove useful in efforts to tackle antibiotic resistance?

April 23, 2012 – 4:25 pm

As previously reported, Sweden has shown it is possible to reduce prescribing of antibiotics. Can Australia manage similar? The NPS is hoping so – as you may have heard, it has launched a campaign using social media and mainstream media to engage the wider community in tackling inappropriate use of these drugs. (And on Thursday, the [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in consumer health information, general practice, infectious diseases, Media-related issues, public health, social media and healthcare | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Behind the alarming headlines about sleeping pills and red meat

March 14, 2012 – 8:08 pm

For those who have been alarmed by recent headlines about the dangers of sleeping pills and red meat, below are links to some further analyses that are worth reading, courtesy of Media Doctor Australia and the NHS Behind the Headlines service. (Perhaps every GP, hospital and other health service waiting room should advertise these websites [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in cancer, cardiovascular disease, Food, health and medical research, Media Doctor Australia, Media-related issues | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

The latest wrap of health & medical reading from The Conversation

March 6, 2012 – 11:52 am

Thanks to Fron Jackson-Webb for providing this latest wrap of reading from The Conversation. It includes articles about bioethics, pharmaceutical industry payments to doctors, the history of forced adoption, gene patenting, advances in tobacco control, debates in suicide prevention, and the financing of dental care. *** There’s no good argument for infanticide By Andrew McGee, [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, dental care, health ethics, tobacco control | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

What many patients want to know, but many doctors don’t want to tell

February 10, 2012 – 4:57 pm

Here is an interesting juxtaposition of two sets of research findings about doctors’ disclosures of their financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies… In the US, a survey of almost 2,000 doctors found nearly two-fifths did not completely agree they should disclose their financial relationships with drug and device companies to patients. The survey, by researchers from [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in consumer health information, health ethics, quality and safety of health care | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Tackling the overuse of antibiotics: a call to action

February 10, 2012 – 1:53 pm

(Update, Feb 27: Links to further reading have been added to the bottom of the post) The NPS recently launched an education initiative for health professionals as part of a new five-year effort to address “the critical issue” of antibiotic resistance. A campaign targeting the general public is due to start in April. The NPS [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in adverse events, general practice, health and medical research, Journal articles, primary health care, public health, quality and safety of health care | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Should pharma industry fines be used in good works that create positive industry PR?

December 15, 2011 – 10:13 am

Andrew Roberts – who is better known to friends, patients, colleagues and Twitter followers as Robbo – is a pharmacist in a remote WA community. Below is an article cross-posted from his blog, Biting the Dust, in which he raises concerns about the source of funds for a dialysis truck that is providing a much-needed [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in chronic diseases, diabetes, health ethics, Indigenous health, pharmacy, rural and remote health | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

The latest wrap of health and medical reading at The Conversation

November 11, 2011 – 7:40 pm

Thanks to Fron Jackson-Webb from The Conversation for providing this latest wrap of  health and medical news. The stories below cover pharma industry lobbying, the pokies debate, and plenty more… *** The tricks companies use to get over-priced drugs on the PBS By Thomas Faunce, ARC Future Fellow at Australian National University: Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturer of [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in childbirth and maternity services, gambling, health & medical marketing, men's health, mental health, obesity, pharmaceutical benefits scheme, pharmacy, public health, women's health | Comments (0)

No need to be so precious about conflicts of interest…the discussion continues

November 11, 2011 – 7:05 pm

Continuing recent discussions at this blog about the sponsorship deal between Medicines Australia and The Australian and broader concerns around relationships between pharma and media… Ron Batagol, pharmacy and drug information consultant, writes: For the sake of logical and argumentative consistency, I will again be the devil’s advocate in this discussion of, what is in [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in conflicts of interest, Media-related issues | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Our medicines supply is not as secure as you might assume

November 8, 2011 – 5:07 pm

Are we doing enough to identify and address current and potential problems with the supply of essential medicines? This is one of many questions raised by a thought-provoking article in the current Medical Journal of Australia, titled A Pandora’s box: sustainable pharmaceutical supply (abstract only free). One of the authors, Dr Simon Quilty, an Advanced [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in global health, Hospitals, pharmacy | Tagged , , | Comments (1)