A Review of Pharmaceutical Industry-Sponsored Medical Education: Ten Key Recommendations for Stakeholders

Abstract

Debate about the pharmaceutical industry's involvement with medical education has reached new levels of acrimony, fuelled by intensified scrutiny of industry-physician relationships. This heightened concern makes apparent the need for clearly articulated standards and vigilant adherence to them among funders, sponsors, faculty and recipients of medical education. The best practice of medicine requires collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry, which develops and brings new medicines to the market; the practitioners who prescribe the medicines to better serve their patients; and those who develop educational activities. Adoption of and adherence to, defined recommendations will maintain this essential channel of communication and help achieve the shared goal of benefiting patients and enhancing the practice of medicine. This paper examines the methods by which medical advances are adopted by practitioners, exploring the key role played by opinion leaders. The authors also discuss the rules and regulations affecting US and European medical education activities and differentiate between promotional and independently accredited educational activities. Recommendations are included to stimulate discussion of best practices in medical education in order to improve patient care.