Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Analysis

Facing up to the prescription opioid crisis

BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d5142 (Published 23 August 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d5142

Rapid Response:

Advice on how to stop University Professors who unethically promote expensive drugs

Dear colleagues Jon Norman and Catherine Caisley,

I am writing to ask clarifications on your number 4 advice.

How does one discourage well-known clinicians and University
Professors from unethically promoting expensive drugs locally and
nationally?

In Greece, we have serious budget deficit implications from these
widespread practices, as I have previously reported. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
[6] [7] [8] [9]

References

[1] BMC Health Serv Res. 2005 May 28;5:41. Organisation and financing
of the health care systems of Bulgaria and Greece -- what are the
parallels? Exadaktylos NM. Higher Technological Educational Institute of
Thessaloniki (A.T.E.I.T.), Vasilis Olgas 6, 54640, Thessaloniki, Greece.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1156891/?tool=pubmed

[2] Health Syst Transit. 2010 Nov;12(7):1-177. Greece health system
review. Economou C. Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences.
World Health Organization 2010, on behalf of the European Observatory on
health systems and Policies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21330233

[3] Health Econ. 2005 Sep;14(Suppl 1):S151-68. Analysing the Greek
health system: a tale of fragmentation and inertia. Mossialos E, Allin S,
Davaki K. London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Health and
Social Care, UK.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16161195

[4] Health Policy. 2008 Jul;87(1):72-81. Epub 2008 Feb 4.
Informal payments in public hospitals in Greece.
Liaropoulos L, Siskou O, Kaitelidou D, Theodorou M, Katostaras T.
Center for Health Services Management and Evaluation, Faculty of Nursing,
University of Athens, Greece.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18249459

[5] Stavros Saripanidis' Rapid Response in:
http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2408.extract/reply#bmj_el_264556

[6] Stavros Saripanidis' Rapid Response in:
http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4870.extract/reply#bmj_el_268394

[7] Stavros Saripanidis' Rapid Response in:
http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b3783.extract/reply#bmj_el_267048

[8] Stavros Saripanidis' Rapid Response in:
http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4803.extract/reply#bmj_el_270274

[9] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/05/greece-healthcare-
brink-catastrophe?INTCMP=SRCH

Competing interests: No competing interests

18 October 2011
Stavros Saripanidis
Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Greece
Private Sector, 55131