There ain't such a thing as a free lunch: Pharmaceutical company payments to Australian psychiatrists.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Forbes, Malcolm; Bhowon, Yeshna; Parker, Lisa
- Source
- Australasian Psychiatry. Dec2023, Vol. 31 Issue 6, p855-856. 2p.
- Subject
- *PSYCHIATRISTS
*PHARMACEUTICAL industry
*PAYMENT
*DATABASES
*CODES of ethics
- Language
- ISSN
- 1039-8562
This letter discusses the marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies towards psychiatrists in Australia. The authors analyzed data from the Medicines Australia (MA) Code of Conduct, which requires the disclosure of payments made to doctors by pharmaceutical companies. They found that 2.3% of Australian psychiatrists received payments, with a total of AUD$515,437 transferred. The authors also noted errors in the MA database and called for greater transparency. They highlighted the potential influence of pharmaceutical payments on prescribing patterns and emphasized the need for psychiatrists to consider the ethical implications of their involvement with pharmaceutical companies. [Extracted from the article]