BackgroundThe interaction between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry influences physicians' attitudes and prescribing behavior. Although largely studied in the US, this topic has not been well studied in resource-poor settings, where a close relationship between physicians and industry still exists.ObjectiveTo describe physician interactions with and attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry in a public general hospital in Lima, Peru.DesignDescriptive, cross-sectional study through an anonymous, self-filled questionnaire distributed among faculty and trainee physicians of five different clinical departments working in a Peruvian public general hospital. A transcultural validation of an existing Spanish questionnaire was performed. Exposure to marketing activities, motivations to contact pharmaceutical representatives and attitudes towards industry were studied. Collected data was analyzed by degree of training, clinical department, gender and teaching status. Attitudes were measured on a four-point LIKERT scale.Results155 physicians completed the survey, of which 148 were included in the study sample. 94.5% of attending physicians reported ongoing encounters with pharmaceutical representatives. The most common industry-related activities were receiving medical samples (91.2%), promotional material (87.8%) and attending meetings in restaurants (81.8%). Respondents considered medical samples and continuing medical education the most ethically acceptable benefits. We found significant differences between attendings and residents, and teaching and non-teaching attendings. An association between the amount of encounters with pharmaceutical representatives, and attitudes towards industry and acceptance of medical samples was found.ConclusionsA close physician-industry relationship exists in the population under study. The contact is established mainly through pharmaceutical representatives. Medical samples are the most received and ethically accepted benefit. The attitudes of physicians on the ethical standards of acceptance of medical samples and other benefits are closely related with their exposure to the pharmaceutical industry. Future studies could explore the motivations of physicians working in resource-poor settings to maintain a close relationship with industry.

Background Worldwide, smoking tobacco causes 7 million deaths annually, and this toll is expected to increase, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. In Latin America, smoking is a leading risk factor for death and disability, contributes to poverty, and imposes an economic burden on health systems. Despite being one of the most effective measures to reduce smoking, tobacco taxation is underused and cigarettes are more affordable in Latin America than in other regions. Our aim was to estimate the tobacco-attributable burden on mortality, disease incidence, quality of life lost, and medical costs in 12 Latin American countries, and the expected health and economic effects of increasing tobacco taxes.Methods In this modelling study, we developed a Markov probabilistic microsimulation economic model of the natural history, medical costs, and quality-of-life losses associated with the most common tobacco-related diseases in 12 countries in Latin America. Data inputs were obtained through a literature review, vital statistics, and hospital databases from each country: Argentina,

Although CE in other settings, trastuzumab was not CE in LA. The use of health technology assessment to prioritize resource allocation and support price negotiations is critical to making innovative drugs available and affordable in developing countries.

The ESS-VP and ESS-MPV, adapted to adult Peruvian population, are comparable to the original scale, reliable, valid, and change-sensitive. It is proposed that the ESS-MPV should be applied in Peruvian population who do not drive motorized vehicles.

. Smoking-attributable burden of disease and costs to the health system are very high in Peru. Higher cigarette taxes could have substantial health and economic benefits for the country.