EDUCATION EVENTS BY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
Medicines Australia (MA) last week posted on its website details of all education events provided or sponsored for healthcare practitioners by MA member companies between July-Dec 2007. The disclosure is part of a stricter industry code of conduct imposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Under the new rules MA must publish a six-monthly report listing spending on educational events for doctors, attendances, event costs and hospitality provided. The AMA supports the disclosure requirement.
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said the AMA supports the delivery of this information because it is in the best interests of patients that doctors are fully informed about new or improved utilisation of medicines.
“It is of great advantage for doctors who attend these education seminars to be able to interrogate the manufacturers of medicine, discuss and look at the data, and gain knowledge before prescribing it for their patients.
Click here for more of the AMA’s press release on this issue.
NEW PBS LISTINGS
The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, announced this week changes to the PBS effective 1 April 2008. Palliative care patients who cannot tolerate further increases in their morphine will now have PBS access to fentanyl lozenges (Actiq). ADHD sufferers between 6 and 18 years of age will also now be able to access to a slow releaser version of Ritalin LA via the PBS. Schizophrenia suffers, in both the acute and maintenance phases of their disease, will now have an alternative drug to already listed antipsychotics available to them, with (Invega) now being listed on the PBS.
CLOSE THE GAP
The AMA fully supports renewed efforts to tackle the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australiana. The AMA was a signatory in support of the Close the Gap Statement of Intent, signed recently by the Prime Minister and Indigenous health leaders.
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said the National Indigenous Health Equality Summit has been a momentous event where many key targets and timelines to close the gap within 25 years have been agreed.
“The AMA continues its commitment to Indigenous Health and closing the gap, and will work with the Government and other key health organisations to help provide better health services for Indigenous Australians.”
Click here to the see the AMA’s press release in full.
NATIONAL ELECTRONIC PRESCRIBING SYSTEM ON ITS WAY
A joint venture by the Health Communication Network Limited, Corum Health Services and Fred Health Pty Ltd called ScriptX has just been formed to develop a secure, encrypted web gateway designed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of prescribing, while protecting patient privacy and choice.
The ScriptX system will enable electronic prescriptions to be sent to a fully encrypted hub for retrieval at a patient’s pharmacy of choice and provide a universal platform eventually enabling access regardless of software used. Patient information will be protected with encrypting, secure storage and secure access codes. Subject to consent scripts when filled via the ScriptX system will be reported to the prescriber. The ScriptX gateway is due to be launch Australia-wide by March 2009.