BMJ  2003;326:1205-1207 (31 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7400.1205

Education and debate

Unhealthy spin

¹ POBox 157, O'Connor, ACT2602, Australia bobburton@ozemail.com.au, ² Devon TQ10 9JL

Public relations companies are experts at "third party technique"—helping the drug industry separate the message from what could be seen as a self interested messenger. But most journalists have a sketchy idea about how the public relations industry works, and thereby are vulnerable to uncritically accepting the disguised messages of the drug industry

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Few doctors have heard of the world's leading medical public relations companies—Edelman, Ruder Finn, Noonan/Russo Presence, the Shire Health Group, and Medical Action Communications, among others. Yet barely a day passes without most doctors or their patients being exposed to messages that have been carefully crafted by these public relations companies, aimed at boosting sales of their clients' drugs.

According to the public relations industry's trade press, the top five companies in "healthcare PR" raked in over $300m (£186m, ##260m) last year for everything from planning pre-launch media coverage of new drugs and cultivating doctors to publishing medical journals and wooing patients' groups.

At the heart of most public relations strategies is what is referred to as the "third party technique." Edelman's associate director health in London, Paul Keirnan, explained the technique as separating the message from what could be seen as a self interested messenger. A pharmaceutical company defending . . . [Full text of this article]

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Free offer for all BMJ readers from Healthy Skepticism

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Unhealthy spin

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