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Educational Event Reports
Why pharmaceutical companies provide medical education events
Pharmaceutical companies have an obligation to ensure all healthcare professionals have access to the latest information about prescription medicines.
One of the ways this information is conveyed is though educational events provided for doctors by pharmaceutical companies. These events can range from small meetings in surgeries to evening briefings over dinner, to a weekend conference for hundreds of healthcare professionals.
No one knows medicines as well as those who make them. That is why healthcare decisions affecting Australian patients must be informed by ethical dialogue between those who make pharmaceuticals and those who prescribe, dispense or administer them.
Why Medicines Australia is publishing this information
Medicines Australia has been required by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to publish the detail of educational events provided or sponsored by Medicines Australia member companies. This requirement was a condition of the ACCC in authorising the latest edition of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct.
The transparent reporting of industry-wide data represents a global precedent for the pharmaceutical industry, and one which Medicines Australia fully supports.
By publishing this information, Medicines Australia is enabling the public to better understand the nature of medical education events provided or sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, and the important role they play in the health system.
These company reports cover educational events from 1 January to 30 June 2008. Medicines Australia will publish similar reports every six months. Report for the preceding six months are available from here.
Non-members of Medicines Australia were not required to publish the details of their educational events.
Medicines Australia Code of Conduct
All educational events sponsored or provided by Medicines Australia member companies are subject to the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is authorised by the ACCC and is updated regularly. It sets the standard for the ethical marketing and promotion of medicines.
Under the Code, the provision of gifts to doctors is banned. Entertainment is banned. The provision of lavish hospitality is banned.
Breaching the Code of Conduct
Where a breach of the Code of Conduct is suspected, a complaint can be lodged with the Code of Conduct Committee, an independent body chaired by a trade practices lawyer.
Companies found to have breached the Code of Conduct can be fined up to $200,000.
Medicines Australia invites scrutiny of these educational events. We encourage people to lodge a complaint with the independent Code of Conduct Committee where they think company behaviour may be inappropriate.
Independent auditor
To help Medicines Australia make an assessment of the level of compliance with the Code of Conduct, an independent auditor was appointed to review the company reports, as for the first six months’ reports.
International business consulting firm Deloitte has reviewed every event included in the company reports. The outcome of this process was that 21 events have been forwarded to the Code of Conduct Committee for investigation. The Code of Conduct Committee’s decisions will be made public once they have been made.
Key industry facts
- The Australian pharmaceuticals industry turned over $17 billion in 2005-06.
- The Australian pharmaceuticals industry invested $752 million in R&D in 2005-06.
- The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme paid $6.45 billion in benefits for listed medicines in 2007.
- More than 2600 prescription medicines are available on the PBS, and advances in medicine are constant.
- In the last two years alone, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has recommended 119 items for listing on the PBS (05-06 and 06-07).
Company Reports Summary
| Number of Medicines Australia member companies reporting | 40 |
| Number of non-Medicines Australia member companies reporting | 1 |
| Total number of events | 15,836 |
| Total number of attendees | 399,339 |
| Total cost of events | $32,657,426 |
| Total cost of hospitality (including travel) | $17,907,520 |
| Total number of events referred to the Code of Conduct Committee | 21 |
| Average cost of hospitality per person | $45 |
| Average cost of event per person | $80 |
More information