Australia's Health Secretary calls for cooperation on promotion of medicines and medical devices

The Australian government recently released a proposal for stronger self-regulation by the pharmaceutical and therapeutic goods industries for the promotion of their products to doctors and health professionals.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mark Butler issued a position paper for comment, which calls on all parts of the therapeutic goods industry to work together to develop high-level principles as the basis for their codes of conduct. The stronger standards would apply to promotion of medicines and medical technology to health professionals. It would work to strengthen codes which are in place or being developed by various industry associations, the Minister stated.

'Doctors and other health professionals should prescribe drugs or medical devices because of the benefit to their patients, not because they could receive an incentive or a gift,' Mr Butler said. 'If the industry cannot provide the tough self-regulation that consumers deserve, the Gillard Government will have to bring in legislation. Fortunately, there is broad acceptance by industry of the need to reform the existing self-regulatory arrangements,' he added.