American Medical Student Association Partners With Pharmedout.Org To Offer Guide On Hosting Industry-Free Meetings

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 08 Apr 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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The American Medical Student Association, the nation's largest, independent medical student organization, today announces a new partnership with PharmedOut.org, an independent, publicly funded project that empowers physicians to identify and counter inappropriate pharmaceutical promotion practices. The first product of the partnership is, "How to Hold Pharma-Free Meetings," a guide for students and others who want to host independent, industry-free grand rounds, meetings or conferences. At most academic medical centers, pharmaceutical companies fund food, speaker travel and honoraria for grand rounds and other educational conferences for physicians and physicians-in-training. None of the academic medical centers that have banned pharmaceutical company gifts to physicians have banned industry-funded educational events.

The practical motivation of satisfying industry sponsors prevents the independent discussion of medical therapies. "How to Hold Pharma-Free Meetings" provides practical tips on how to break industry's grip on medical education and is available here.

"There is substantial evidence that marketing shapes physician prescribing habits," says Michael Ehlert, M.D., AMSA national president. "This guide is a terrific tool for students, residents, physicians and administrators who want to host industry-free meetings. By eradicating pharmaceutical companies from all gatherings, physicians will be able to go back to practicing evidence-based medicine."

"Physicians often ask us how they can fund grand rounds and conferences without pharmaceutical company support. Our guide helps answer that question," states Adriane Fugh-Berman M.D., director of PharmedOut and associate professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical Center.

One option for reducing costs is not providing food. "It's a class, not a picnic," says Tony Scialli, M.D., PharmedOut team member and adjunct professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Launched in 2002, AMSA's PharmFree Campaign encourages medical schools and academic medical centers to develop policies that limit the access of pharmaceutical company representatives to their campuses and prohibit medical students and physicians from accepting gifts of any kind from these representatives. In May 2007, AMSA released its PharmFree Scorecard, which was a first-of-it's-kind ranking of medical schools according to their pharmaceutical influence policies. Of all the medical schools in the United States, five received a grade of "A," which translates into comprehensive school policy that restricts pharmaceutical representatives to both the medical school campus and its academic medical centers. Forty schools received an "F" for their lack of policy. AMSA remains one of the few national organizations to completely reject all pharmaceutical advertisements and sponsorships. For more information on the PharmFree Campaign visit http://www.pharmfree.org.

About PharmedOut

PharmedOut is an independent, physician-run project that documents and disseminates information about how pharmaceutical companies influence prescribing, and encourages prescribers to use unbiased sources of information about drugs and to choose pharma-free CME. News, slideshows, original videos featuring industry insiders, and more than 300 credits of pharma-free CME are available at pharmedout.org. PharmedOut is funded through the Attorney General Consumer and Prescriber Education grant program, created as part of a 2004 settlement between Warner-Lambert, a division of Pfizer, Inc., and the Attorneys General of 50 States and the District of Columbia, to settle allegations that Warner-Lambert conducted an unlawful marketing campaign for the drug Neurontin® (gabapentin) that violated state consumer protection laws.

About the American Medical Student Association

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), with more than a half-century history of medical student activism, is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. With more than 68,000 members, including medical and premedical students, residents and practicing physicians, AMSA is committed to improving medical training as well as advancing the profession of medicine. AMSA focuses on four strategic priorities, including universal healthcare, disparities in medicine, diversity in medicine and transforming the culture of medical education.

American Medical Student Association