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What do Canadians think about physician-pharmaceutical industry interactions?
Anne Holbrook1, Joel Lexchin, Eleanor Pullenayegum
1Division of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada; Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Canada; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Canada.
Health Policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|May 29, 2013
Summary
Canadian public views on physician-pharmaceutical industry interactions vary. Concerns arise particularly with financial benefits to doctors, differing from official conflict of interest guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Public Health Policy
- Pharmaceutical Industry Relations
Background:
- Existing guidelines address conflicts of interest (COI) for health professionals and regulators.
- Public perception of what constitutes a COI in physician-pharmaceutical interactions remains undocumented in Canada.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Canadian public opinions on physician-pharmaceutical industry interactions.
- To compare public views with established COI guidelines.
- To identify factors influencing public perception of these interactions.
Main Methods:
- A bilingual telephone survey was conducted across all Canadian provinces.
- A validated questionnaire, Public Opinions on Physician-Pharmaceutical Industry Interactions (POPPII), was used.
- Random digit dialing (RDD) reached 1041 adults (≥18 years) for representative national sampling, followed by two focus groups.
Main Results:
- 34% of participants expressed prior concern about physician-pharmaceutical relationships.
- Acceptability varied: high for drug information/educational gifts, mixed for meals/conference payments, low for recruitment fees/medication samples/insider trading.
- Participant age significantly impacted acceptability ratings; agreement with COI guidelines was moderate (over 60% for only half the statements).
Conclusions:
- Public opinion on physician-pharmaceutical interactions is scenario-dependent.
- A notable public concern exists regarding interactions offering direct financial gain to physicians.
- Public views do not fully align with existing COI guidelines, indicating a need for public engagement.
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