E-drug: Appropriate Marketing of Pharmaceutics (cont'd)
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Peter Mansfield noted: "If there have been "substantial advances" in
Australia (my country) I am not aware of them. Please inform me."
The Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association have set up a
compulsory MedRep course (in association with the Victorian College of
Pharmacy and Monash University). Details can be found at:
http://www.vcp.monash.edu.au/pharmaceutics/vacep/
For those who do not have Web access I have copied details of one
relevant module below.
While I believe that this course is commendable, I agree with Peter
that simply making MedReps attend a course provides no guarantee
that their behaviour will be improved. Perhaps the course organisers
can post details of any impact & outcome evaluation they have
undertaken?
Dr. Ken Harvey
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health
La Trobe University, 3083, Australia
Telephone: +61 3 9479 1750, Facsimile: +61 3 9479 1783
e-mail: k.harvey@latrobe.edu.au
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The APMA Code of Conduct
ESTIMATED WORKING TIME - 20 hours
DESCRIPTION:
This module comprises two units -
Unit 1 - The APMA Code of Conduct: The first unit focuses specifically
on the APMA Code of Conduct. The Code deals primarily with the
obligations and practices of pharmaceutical companies in Australia in
their relationship with the health care industry and the public. This
unit allows the candidate to become not only familiar with the wording,
but also the spirit and intent of the Code.
Unit 2 - Ethical Practice: The second unit focuses on Ethical Practices
within the pharmaceutical industry. This unit provides information
about the role of the APMA, pharmaceutical companies and
representatives in promoting the Code of Conduct, and Government
legislation which regulates promotional activities. It considers the views
of professional, regulatory and consumer organisations about the
promotional practices of pharmaceutical companies and their
representatives and the industry's response to these concerns.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The candidate should be able to:
Unit 1
* review the APMA Code of Conduct and provide evidence, using
particular workplace examples, which illustrate how companies and
company representatives comply with the Code of Conduct.
* describe the roles and composition of the APMA Sub-committees
responsible for administering the Code and sanctions that can be
imposed on companies for breaches of the Code.
Unit 2
* outline mechanisms that the APMA adopts to promote the Code of
Conduct to health care professionals
* review Commonwealth and State legislation which regulates the
promotional activities of company representatives.
* explore the interactions between representatives in one-to-one
dialogue with health care professionals.
* examine and comment on the views of external organisations with
respect to the pharmaceutical industry's promotion and marketing
practices.
ASSESSMENT:
The assessment of this module comprises the development of a portfolio
which will contain the products of exercises completed during the
study of the module. These exercises consist of practical activities
such as the development of checklists and examples of the Code in
action, both of which may form reference material for the participants
to use later in their career.
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