Mandatory reporting a positive: GSK

Tegan Fleming

The new rules were developed to address a perceived lack of transparency in interactions between pharmaceutical companies and health professionals.

Pharmaceutical companies are now required to report details of promotional and educational events to Medicines Australia (MA) for publication on the MA website.

Alex Gosman, director of government and corporate affairs at GSK, told delegates at last fortight's Fifth Annual Future of the PBS Summit in Sydney that GSK acknowledged that the community wanted pharmaceutical companies to be open and transparent about the way in which they educated health professionals about their products.

In his presentation entitled "Challenges to the growth of the industry", Mr Gosman said an open and transparent reporting requirement was needed to ensure the community would not think pharmaceutical companies were influencing health professionals inappropriately.

"GSK understands and acknowledges what stakeholders were trying to achieve with their recent successful efforts to require mandatory reporting of all hospitality provided to health care professionals by pharmaceutical companies in Australia.

"Educating doctors about innovative medicines that are both safe and effective is a legitimate and valuable part of our health system that contributes to the well-being of patients," he said.

Mr Gosman said the pharmaceutical industry was just one of a range of sources of information on new medicines for health professionals.

"The pharmaceutical industry ensures that all of its educational material is supported by sound scientific evidence that helps equip the doctor to form their own view as to what will be the right medicine for the right patient at the right time.

"All medicines of a type are not the same. Doctors make decisions between brands of medicines that have already been approved by Australia's tough regulators to ensure their safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness - the choice between brands that doctors make is about what is best for the specific needs of an individual patient."