Medicines Australia responds…

Brendan Shaw, Chief Executive of Medicines Australia, has responded to yesterday’s post on disclosure of doctor payments by GSK. He writes….

Clearly there is an inexorable global trend towards greater transparency and Medicines Australia embraces that shift.

The current edition of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct adopted several provisions to increase transparency, and the current review of the Code which Deborah Waterhouse mentions will carefully examine the case for further increasing transparency.

It’s important for the community to have confidence in the relationship between doctors and pharmaceutical companies.

At the same time – and Deborah is absolutely right here – the industry must consider the views and concerns of all other interested parties including the healthcare professionals themselves. That requires dialogue which is ongoing.

It is issues such as these that the Code of Conduct review will consider carefully. Medicines Australia reviews the Code every three years to ensure it remains in tune with changing community expectations of transparency.

The strength of the Code over 50 years has been its careful ongoing evolution conducted in consultation with stakeholders and the wider community.

I encourage any Croakey readers with an interest in the Code of Conduct to make a submission to the current review at: http://medicinesaustralia.com.au/code-of-conduct/code-of-conduct-review/

The next edition of the Code of Conduct will be informed by your submissions.