Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe June 2008 Brussels Report 9 Tell Us Something We Didn’t Know Reflector ponders whether the new EC report on DTC is a useful policy making tool or just another exercise in stating “the bleeding obvious.” T he ban on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription-only medicines should be maintained, according to the majority of responders to the EU’s February consultation on patient information. That is the key finding of the report released by the European Commission on 26 May. Nearly 200 responses came from the usual suspects — healthcare professionals, patients, regulators, the pharmaceutical industry, researchers, consumers and social insurance organizations. Public consultations can be dangerous weapons. The outcome can often be manipulated by the body carrying out the consultation to support almost whatever the organisers want. The sample is usually too small to be in any way a representation of public opinion (even if it were to be conceded that public opinion should arbitrate on, say, matters of regulating medicines — a deeply questionable suggestion in any case). Here, for instance, a conclusion is drawn from the survey, without any real evaluation of who said what, or whose voice should carry most weight. And a message is inferred without appropriate nuance or qualification. As even the Commission admits, despite the strong feeling from respondents that there should be a clear distinction between advertising and non-promotional information, “it was agreed that such a distinction is not easy to establish.” In fact the maximum consensus that the Commission notes is that “there is a need to provide citizens of EU member states with understandable, objective, high-quality and non-promotional information about the benefits and the risks of their prescriptiononly medicine.” It hardly needed a consultation to elicit that. No-one would dissent from such a motherhood-andapple-pie opinion. Similarly, the report notes that while almost half the respondents (mainly health professionals and social insurance organisations) felt that potential conflicts of interest make the pharmaceutical industry an inappropriate source of prescription-only medicine information, responses from the pharmaceutical industry mostly supported pharmaceutical companies as information providers. As a re-statement of what is obvious and was already widely documented, it is first-rate. As an exercise in clarifying courses of action or feeding into policy making, it is less impressive. Elsewhere, “the respondents agreed that unnecessary bureaucracy should be avoided,” says the report — offering another unremarkable piece of guidance. No-one wants unnecessary bureaucracy, but without any definition of what is and isn't necessary the observation is pointless. In short, this consultation appears to be of little value to anyone, except perhaps to the European Commission, which can now choose to emphasise whichever angle it pleases from this jumble, presenting it as reasoned support for the line the Commission wants to take. The consultation doesn't mean the Commission is going to make a bad proposal on information to patients. But it is hard to see how this exercise in sham democracy can help in any way to make it a good one.
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 Contents From the Editor News and Analysis Calendar Brussels Report - Tell Us Something We Didn’t Know BioFutures - Friends, Acquaintances and Strangers IT Matters - The High Cost of Swimming Upstream Strategy Fundamentals - Hidden in Books Corporate Strategy - New Dimensions for New Business Models Special Report: Making the Leap Sales Force Incentives - The Goal: Setting Goals Last Word Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 (Page Cover1) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 (Page Cover2) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - From the Editor (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - From the Editor (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - News and Analysis (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - News and Analysis (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Calendar (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Brussels Report - Tell Us Something We Didn’t Know (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - BioFutures - Friends, Acquaintances and Strangers (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - IT Matters - The High Cost of Swimming Upstream (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - IT Matters - The High Cost of Swimming Upstream (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Strategy Fundamentals - Hidden in Books (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Corporate Strategy - New Dimensions for New Business Models (Page 14) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Corporate Strategy - New Dimensions for New Business Models (Page 15) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Corporate Strategy - New Dimensions for New Business Models (Page 16) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Corporate Strategy - New Dimensions for New Business Models (Page 17) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Special Report: Making the Leap (Page 18) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Special Report: Making the Leap (Page 19) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Special Report: Making the Leap (Page 20) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Special Report: Making the Leap (Page 21) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Sales Force Incentives - The Goal: Setting Goals (Page 22) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Sales Force Incentives - The Goal: Setting Goals (Page 23) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Sales Force Incentives - The Goal: Setting Goals (Page 24) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Last Word (Page 25) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Last Word (Page 26) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - June 2008 - Last Word (Page 27)
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