A guide to working with the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

The introduction of Nurse Independent Prescribing and Nurse Supplementary Prescribing means that over 10 000 nurses across the UK have virtually the same prescribing rights as doctors. Nurses are therefore faced with the challenges of working with the pharmaceutical industry. Such challenges include the extent to which promotional material can be relied upon, the acceptability with regards to the provision of free samples, hospitality, gifts, and the sponsorship of meetings. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry sets out how pharmaceutical companies are permitted to promote medicines to health professionals and others. It also covers the provision of information about prescription-only medicines to the public.

Nurse prescribers’ interactions with and perceptions of pharmaceutical sales representatives

“…As the pharmaceutical industry has recognised the growing potential for nurses' impact on prescribing patterns, those nurses with prescriptive authority (referred to hereafter as NPA and encompassing categories, such as nurse practitioner, advanced practice nurses and any other location or practice specific nurse who is vested with the ability to prescribe) are being increasingly targeted in the USA, UK and beyond (King 1994, Kessenich 2004, Simmonds et al 2007. Training materials and even articles are being produced by those in the industry urging pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSR) not to overlook the growing prominence of nurses as prescribers and the potential effect on their company's bottom line (Flewell 2005, Bacchetta & Green 2007.…”