Tag Archives: pharmaceutical industry

What will it take for doctors to reject pharma largesse?

When the NHMRC convened a workshop on conflicts of interest in Canberra recently, participants were told that Australia had been slower than some other countries to take steps to minimise the impact of such conflicts upon research and clinical practice.

In the piece below, Sydney dermatologist Dr Chris Commens argues that unless the medical profession smartens [...]

Analysing conflicts of interests

A Sydney doctor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has sent in the following piece examining the complexities of conflict of interest issues. It’s timely in view of the approaching NHMRC workshop on this issue, and recent debate surrounding Vioxx promotions, industry sponsored guidelines for DVT prevention, and the Baker/Sanofi deal, amongst other things.
The doctor writes:
It’s [...]

NHMRC boss: we are looking into management of competing interests

Professor Warwick Anderson, ceo of the NHMRC, has sent in the following comment re the guidelines controversy. (Readers with an interest in these issues may want to check out the details of a workshop being held by the NHMRC in Canberra on June 2):
“Last week, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released for [...]

Guidelines should be divorced from industry: Prof Guy Maddern

Professor Guy Maddern, professor of surgery at the University of Adelaide, comments on the ongoing controversy over guideline development (see posts below for more background):
“The nature and content of health care needs to be constantly reviewed.   This remains an enormous challenge as the impact of new developments, new understandings of disease and the access to [...]

The hijacking of medical education

Brett Forge, a physician and cardiologist from Warragul in Victoria, has sent in the
following comments regarding his inclusion on the Crikey Register of Influence:
Dear Crikey
Many thanks for the dubious honour of being included on your register of influence.
It is an inadequate way of investigating medical corruption but it may at least start a discussion on [...]

Putting the pharma into pharmacy: Simon Burrow

With so much media, research and professional focus upon the ties between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession, pharma’s wooing of other health professions is often overlooked. It’s a timely issue, given the push by other professions to expand their influence over medication prescribing and patients’ medication choices.
Here is how it works, according to [...]

New depressant for the annoyingly cheerful, and other cyber-plugs

This spoof of the pharma industry and the medicalisation of daily life is promoting a new drug, Despondex, as a “huge step forward in the battle against exhuberance”.

Should journalists accept awards funded by drug companies?

The financial ties between drug companies and journalists are scrutinised in the latest British Medical Journal by American medical academics Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin, and Australian journalist Ray Moynihan.
The authors suggest that journalism educators should not accept funding from the healthcare and drug industries, that journalists should not accept gifts, awards, or any financial [...]