Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2654

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

How GPs keep Uptodate about Medicines ( Page 4-5 of MedicinesTalk Spring 2005 )
NPS ( National Prescribing Service, Australia ) 2005 Oct 15
http://www.nps.org.au/resources/medicines_talk/mt_spring2005.pdf

Notes:

Ralph Faggotter’s Comments:
The Federal Health Department run NPS ( National Prescribing Service) in Australia attempts to provide some good post-graduate education for doctors in relation to quality use of medicines.
Unfortunately the NPS is so concerned not to upset the medical establishment and the pharmaceutical industry that at times they ‘gild the lily’ and fail in their duty to provide accurate information.
One such lapse can be seen here on pages 4-5 of this educational material for the general public where the mechanisms whereby GPs acquire their ongoing post-graduate education are described.
The sad truth is that most GPs receive very little of their CME ( Continuing Medical Education) from independent sources. The RACGP itself is not independent as it takes drug company funding. Most of the so-called educational meetings attended by GPs are run by and for pharmaceutical companies with a view to promoting their products. This cannot honestly be called real post-graduate education but is never-the-less rubber-stamped by the RACGP.
The NPS does its bit to try and skew the educational process back towards scientific objectivity but has an uphill battle with miniscule resources pitted against the multi-billion dollar might of the pharmaceutical industry which buys its way into the hearts of the doctors via their stomachs.
The truth is that only a tiny fraction of the so-call ‘medicines education’ for GPs would be regarded by their patients ( and the consumers to whom this NPS bulletin is directed) as genuine education.
We feel the NPS has a obligation to present this unpalatable fact to the public and not to protect the guilty.
This NPS article should be called- “ HOW GPs ARE DISCOURAGED FROM KEEPING UPTODATE ABOUT MEDICINES”

Full text: see http://www.nps.org.au/resources/medicines_talk/mt_spring2005.pdf