[e-drug] Analysing pharmaceutical policy in Europe (3)

["Peter Mansfield" <peter.mansfield@adelaide.edu.au>]

E-DRUG: Analysing pharmaceutical policy in Europe (3)
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Marie,

One option for you would be the compare Belgian policy with the Australian National Medicines Policy. 
See:
www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/National%20Medicines%20Policy-2

The Australian National Medicines Policy is based on four central objectives:

    * Timely access to the medicines that Australians need, at a cost individuals and the community can afford;

    * Medicines meeting appropriate standards of quality, safety and efficacy;

    * Quality use of medicines;

    * Maintaining a responsible and viable medicines industry;

The Quality use of medicines component has conceptual framework you may find interesting.
www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/nmp-pdf-natstrateng-cnt.htm 

This conceptual framework is really just an approach to market segmentation so if you want a larger conceptual framework, you could consider the conceptual framework of marketing.

For what it is worth, in my opinion there are many good things about the Australian National Medicines Policy but it is deeply flawed. One of these flaws in the strong emphasis on stakeholder partnership that has allowed industry interests to dominate via partnerships of industry, industry funded health professionals, industry funded patients' organisations, industry funded regulators and pragmatists who don't want to offend those "stakeholders".

 Dissenting voices, such as mine, have been marginalised. This has left Australia defenceless against the marketing of drugs like Vioxx and unable to learn from such mistakes.

Also in my opinion the policy is largely an attempt to treat symptoms caused by patent monopoly protection for new drugs. It would be better to treat the main cause of the problems by phasing out patent protection in favour of competitive grant funding of research and the other functions currently funded by drug companies.

See:
Mansfield P. Industry-Sponsored Research: A More Comprehensive Alternative. PLoS Med 2006;3(10): e463
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030463

Mansfield P. Introduction to Healthy Skepticism Inc, our reform agenda and methods. August 2006 Vol 24 No 8
http://www.healthyskepticism.org/news/InternationalAug06.php

regards,

Peter

Dr Peter Mansfield
GP
Director, Healthy Skepticism Inc
Countering misleading drug promotion.
www.healthyskepticism.org
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Research Fellow, Discipline of General Practice, University of Adelaide
peter.mansfield@adelaide.edu.au
See publication list at:
www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/peter.mansfield
"Peter Mansfield" <peter.mansfield@adelaide.edu.au>