E-DRUG: New report on education about drug promotion
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HAI, WHO and the EU have just released an extensive survey about education
for pharmacy and medical students in over 60 countries around the world.
Below is a brief description of the results. Anyone wanting the full report
can go to http://www.haiweb.org/26012006/MRhaipromosurveyFINAL06.pdf
Education of medical and pharmacy students plays a crucial role in preparing
future practitioners to respond appropriately to drug promotion. But a
survey of medical and pharmacy schools, conducted by HAI and WHO in 2005,
found that while most respondents included education on promotion in the
required curriculum, a half a day or less was devoted to this important
issue during the students¹ professional training. In nearly one-third of
cases, medical schools devoted only 1-2 hours often within a broader course
on pharmacology, clinical pharmacology or therapeutics. Few students are
taught how to respond to patient requests for advertised drugs despite
direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and other promotional
techniques targeting the public becoming more prevalent. These are some of
the key findings in the survey report Educational initiatives for medical
and pharmacy students about drug promotion: an international cross-sectional
survey by Barbara Mintzes.
Joel Lexchin
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Joel Lexchin MD
121 Walmer Rd.
Toronto ON
Canada M5R 2X8
Tel: 416-964-7186
Fax: 416-736-5227
E mail: joel.lexchin@utoronto.ca