how family doctors can be misled by drug companies an example concerning antibiotic therapy for...
TRANSCRIPT
How family doctors can be misled by drug companies
An example concerning antibiotic therapy for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
Florence (ITALY) 27 - 30 August 2006
Dr. Guido Giustetto
The booklet “Use the best first”
Italian family doctors received the revolutionary news:
a workshop at The Istituto Superiore di Sanità states that
for upper respiratory tract infections– to be effective– to avoid antimicrobial resistence
it is necessary to use, from the very beginning,
a powerful wide spectrum antibiotic like moxifloxacin.
What does literature say ?
Literature doesn’t support these theses On the contrary, it advises us to:
– Use less antibiotics (the CDC estimates that antibiotic prescribing would be reduced by more than 40%)
– Wait before starting therapy– Choose a narrow-spectrum antibiotic, if antibiotic
is necessary– Save the new antibiotics for severe conditions
What the “real” objective ?
To widen the use of moxifloxacin from labelled indications (sinusitis only) to any upper respiratory tract infection
To increase the drug sales
3 communication tecnique tricks
I Data manipulation
II Recourse to a third party
III Use of a trademark
Communication trick No. 1
To distort the picture with:
a mixture of correct information and – over-alarming statements– misleading references to tables in the text– deliberately truncated quotations– evocative and allusive words
Communication trick No. 2
Recourse to a third party to make the statements more credible and reliable.
40 specialists
Paul Erlich (deceased in 1915)
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Communication trick No. 3
The logotype has been invented:USE THE BEST FIRST
this iconic element strengthens the verbal aspect in favour of a long lasting memorization of the message
Conclusion
This booklet is not a scientific instrument is a misleading promotion pubblication attempts to interfere with the doctors’
independent and appropriate therapeutic choice
goes against the patients’ best interest
Conclusion
In this bookletmarketing
comesbefore
science