Re: Forget sponsorship and free trips—welcome to Pharmacare
I was saddened to read your recent opinion piece which criticised joint working partnerships between the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry. We of course expect all our working practices and those of fellow healthcare professionals to stand up to scrutiny, but it is also right that regard is given to balance and subjects are addressed in the spirit of journalistic enquiry and scepticism, rather than cynicism.
Contrary to the tone and implication of the article, joint working was not an idea solely conceived and driven by industry. Rather, it has had equal backing from the Department of Health since its inception. It is difficult to imagine that experienced, senior NHS managers and clinicians have been misled about what the benefits of joint working are, or convinced in to disregarding the best interests of patients.
Joint working operates within a set of strict, publicly available guidelines, but there is no mention of this in your article. The guidance clearly states joint working is for the benefit of patients and all parties should benefit. The guidance goes on to say companies are forbidden to use joint working projects as an inducement to prescribe. Companies are also expressly prohibited from withdrawing from a project based solely on an assessment of return on investment and termination of any ongoing work must be based on exit criteria mutually agreed between the NHS and the partners involved.
Companies are not just experts at producing medicines; they also have a wealth of skills and knowledge which health care professionals can draw upon to help them improve patient care. This is the whole reason industry and the NHS have embarked on this journey, as an effective way to collaborate by pooling resources and expertise to deliver patient centred, innovative projects, whilst delivering efficiency savings.
The simplistic notion that the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry can never have any common goals, simply because the latter operates in a commercial environment is not true. Yes, companies are required to make a profit, but the professionals that work in my industry are committed to helping people and developing medicines that transform lives.
Joint working projects have proven to be tremendously successful making considerable impact on reducing hospital admissions and length of stay for patients whilst improving a range of patient satisfaction indicators.1,2 Where all concerned benefit, particularly the patient, we shouldn’t dismiss the good work done on their behalf based on out-dated stereotypes and preconceptions.
Stephen Whitehead, Chief Executive, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
_________________
Rapid Response:
Re: Forget sponsorship and free trips—welcome to Pharmacare
I was saddened to read your recent opinion piece which criticised joint working partnerships between the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry. We of course expect all our working practices and those of fellow healthcare professionals to stand up to scrutiny, but it is also right that regard is given to balance and subjects are addressed in the spirit of journalistic enquiry and scepticism, rather than cynicism.
Contrary to the tone and implication of the article, joint working was not an idea solely conceived and driven by industry. Rather, it has had equal backing from the Department of Health since its inception. It is difficult to imagine that experienced, senior NHS managers and clinicians have been misled about what the benefits of joint working are, or convinced in to disregarding the best interests of patients.
Joint working operates within a set of strict, publicly available guidelines, but there is no mention of this in your article. The guidance clearly states joint working is for the benefit of patients and all parties should benefit. The guidance goes on to say companies are forbidden to use joint working projects as an inducement to prescribe. Companies are also expressly prohibited from withdrawing from a project based solely on an assessment of return on investment and termination of any ongoing work must be based on exit criteria mutually agreed between the NHS and the partners involved.
Companies are not just experts at producing medicines; they also have a wealth of skills and knowledge which health care professionals can draw upon to help them improve patient care. This is the whole reason industry and the NHS have embarked on this journey, as an effective way to collaborate by pooling resources and expertise to deliver patient centred, innovative projects, whilst delivering efficiency savings.
The simplistic notion that the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry can never have any common goals, simply because the latter operates in a commercial environment is not true. Yes, companies are required to make a profit, but the professionals that work in my industry are committed to helping people and developing medicines that transform lives.
Joint working projects have proven to be tremendously successful making considerable impact on reducing hospital admissions and length of stay for patients whilst improving a range of patient satisfaction indicators.1,2 Where all concerned benefit, particularly the patient, we shouldn’t dismiss the good work done on their behalf based on out-dated stereotypes and preconceptions.
Stephen Whitehead, Chief Executive, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
_________________
1 http://www.abpi.org.uk/our-work/value-access/Pages/joint-working.aspx
2 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_119052.pdf
Competing interests: No competing interests