Published 3 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b234
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b234

Analysis

Relationships with the drug industry: Build trust based on good science

¹ American Enterprise Unit, 1150 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA

The relationship between the drug industry, academia, healthcare professionals, and patients has reached an all time low and few doubt that it is in the interests of all parties to improve it. A recent report from the Royal College of Physicians attempts to define a path towards achieving a more productive relationship. Here we set out five contrasting views on what the ideal relationship between industry and prescribers and patients should be and what steps need to be taken to achieve it (doi:10.1136/bmj.b222, doi:10.1136/bmj.b211, doi:10.1136/bmj.b252, doi:10.1136/bmj.b232)

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

Medical treatments are becoming increasingly more individual, with respect to both disease and patient. They are also becoming more complex, and precise diagnoses and close monitoring are needed to optimise their use. In this environment, consumers and doctors need to work more closely with product developers. Yet increasing regulation of the drug industry is restricting its ability to disseminate the results of its clinical studies. This risks shrinking the opportunities patients have to improve their health. In the face of regulatory steps to restrain their scientific speech, drug makers need to take new steps in their relationship with doctors and patients and establish transparent guidelines for those interactions. They should also focus more squarely on matters of advancing science, monitoring for safety, and improving health education.

A large part of the industry’s current problems stems from the way its relationship with academic physicians and medical institutions has evolved over the . . . [Full text of this article]

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