Pharmaceutical sales strategies and sponsorship

Sturgiss, Elizabeth Ann; Douglas, Kirsty; Trumble, Stephen Craig

doi:10.5694/mja14.01525

Topics

To the Editor: It is with dismay that we read in MJA InSight Morton's dismissal of the international “No Advertising Please” campaign, citing Australian Medical Association (AMA) policy.1

1 Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, ACT.
2 University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: elizabeth.sturgiss@anu.edu.au

Acknowledgements:

We thank David Harley, Christine Phillips, Mieke van Driel and Claire Harrison for intellectual input and support.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Morton B. Brian Morton: faulty pledge. MJA InSight 2014; 20 Oct. https://www.mja.com.au/insight/2014/39/brian-morton-faulty-pledge (accessed Jan 2015).
2. Spurling GK, Mansfield PR, Montgomery BD, et al. Information from pharmaceutical companies and the quality, quantity, and cost of physicians' prescribing: a systematic review. PLOS Med 2010; 7: e1000352.
3. Cialdini R. Influence: the psychology of persuasion. Revised ed. New York: HarperBusiness, 2007.
4. Thaler RH, Sunstein CR. Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2008.
5. Ariely D. Predictably irrational: the hidden forces that shape our decisions. London: HarperCollins, 2008.
6. Mintzes B, Lexchin J, Sutherland JM, et al. Pharmaceutical sales representatives and patient safety: a comparative prospective study of information quality in Canada, France and the United States. J Gen Intern Med 2013; 28: 1368-1375.

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