To the Editor: Mitchell raises issues that strongly reflect on the professional standing of the medical profession.1 His particular focus is on the pharmaceutical industry, and on much needed changes as highlighted by Medicines Australia.2 Similar concerns exist in the medical technology industry where the transparency of relationships is becoming increasingly important.
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- 1. Mitchell PB. Winds of change: growing demands for transparency in the relationship between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 273-275. <MJA full text>
- 2. Medicines Australia. Code of conduct. Edition 16. 2007. http://www.medicinesaustralia.com.au/pages/page5.asp (accessed Jan 2010).
- 3. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Code of conduct. Melbourne: RACS, 2006.
- 4. Australian Medical Council. Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia. Canberra: AMC, 2009.
- 5. MTAA and MTANZ code of practice. 4th ed. Sydney: Medical Technology Association of Australia, 2008.
- 6. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Surgeons and trainees interactions with the medical industry. Guidelines and position paper. Melbourne: RACS, 2009. http://www.surgeons.org/Content/NavigationMenu/CollegeResources/Publications/Positionpapers/default.htm (accessed Jan 2010).
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Michael Grigg represented the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons at the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) Conference in Sydney in 2008 and the MTAA paid his airfare to attend.