Next step to greater transparency

Medicines Australia today takes the next step on the journey to greater transparency with the release of the first report of Advisory Board meetings held in the first quarter of 2013. The release of this report coincides with the twelfth round of educational event reporting.

“The new provisions in Edition 17 of the Code are a major step towards greater transparency, providing greater confidence that interactions between healthcare professionals and companies are appropriate,” Medicines Australia Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw said.

“The first of these new initiatives, Advisory Board reports, is another step in the journey to greater transparency. There will be further reports on expenditure on healthcare professional consultants and support for health consumer organisations due in early 2014,” he said.

Advisory boards perform an important function in protecting patient health by providing essential advice to pharmaceutical companies on their product or group of products. Advisory Boards generally consist of healthcare professionals, but can also include consumer representatives. An Advisory Board for a given Product may be conducted for a number of years and the membership of the Board may vary over time. The reports released today capture only the payments made to healthcare professional Advisory Board members.

“The new reporting provisions are part of the new 17th edition of the Code introduced at the beginning of the year.

“Industry is committed to greater transparency and welcomes the release of the Transparency Working Group’s paper – Transparency Model Consultation and Discussion Paper on 21 June.”

The reports can be accessed here

-ENDS-

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