Recommended reading from Anne Taylor-Vaisey:
Int J Clin Pract. 2006 Feb;60(2):242-52.
Ethics and pharmaceutical medicine - the full report of the Ethical Issues Committee of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK. Bickerstaffe R, Brock P, Husson JM, Rubin I, Bragman K, Paterson K, Sommerville A. Ethical Issues Committee, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, London, UK.
Summary: The practice of pharmaceutical medicine brings with it ethical challenges and dilemmas often very different from those encountered in the practice of clinical medicine. Having established a framework of guiding ethical principles, this report aims to look in some detail at specific areas of possible ethical concern to pharmaceutical physicians, offering practical advice and guidance on good practice. The report covers issues related to pharmaceutical research, including dissemination of research findings, communication with other health professionals and patients and involvement of pharmaceutical physicians and companies in the provision of patient services. The primacy of the interests of patients and the wider public is emphasised, and the possible impact of new developments in pharmaceutical technology is explored. It is hoped that the report will help those working in pharmaceutical medicine and act as a stimulus for wider discussion and debate.
PMID: 16451302 [PubMed - in process]
Int J Clin Pract. 2006 Feb;60(2):238-41.
Guiding Principles for Pharmaceutical Physicians from the Ethical Issues Committee of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK. Bickerstaffe R, Brock P, Husson JM, Rubin I, Bragman K, Paterson K, Sommerville A., Ethical Issues Committee, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, London, UK.
Summary: Medical practitioners practising in the field of pharmaceutical medicine, whether in industry, regulatory bodies or an academic environment, are bound by the same ethical standards which apply to all doctors. Their work, however, leads to some very specific ethical considerations which may not be fully explored in ethical codes based in clinical medicine. This document aims to establish some guiding principles which should underpin a working ethical framework for pharmaceutical physicians. It clearly places the protection of patients (and research subjects) and the doctor's duties to wider society ahead of responsibilities to an individual employer while emphasising the importance of adherence to high standards of research, including dissemination of findings. These principles form the basis of a fuller report which offers more specific practical advice on possible ethical conflicts or dilemmas.
PMID: 16451301 [PubMed - in process]
