Australian Medical Association

MJA release -Medical experts say the prominence given to brand names on medicine labels is confusing particularly to consumers, but also to doctors, and increases the risk of duplicate prescriptions and overdose, in an article in the December issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

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The AMA opposes Government decisions to defer listing of medicines on the PBS that have been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). The Government is leaving itself open to accusations of political interference by ignoring the PBAC assessment and pricing process which is fair, equitable, evidence-based and transparent.

MJA release - Australia needs anti-false claims legislation as exists in the US to provide financial incentives to whistleblowers as a health policy priority, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Lead author Assoc Prof Faunce, from the College of Medicine, Biology and Environment at the Australian National University, said Australia would greatly benefit from US style anti-fraud and anti-competitive laws for the pharmaceutical and health care sector.

MJA release - US-based multinational pharmaceutical companies are lobbying for Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) provisions similar to those in the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, which would reduce cost-effective government regulatory control of pharmaceuticals, threatening equitable access to medicines, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

MJA media release - Although codeine-ibuprofen can be considered a relatively weak opioid analgesic, it is nevertheless addictive and more research is needed to develop health care responses to its misuse, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Matthew Frei, Clinical Head at Southern and Eastern Health Alcohol and Drug Services and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, and co-authors investigated morbidity related to the misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) codeine-ibuprofen analgesics between May 2005 and December 2008.

Twenty seven patients with serious morbidity were studied. On average, the patients were taking daily doses of 435-602mg of codeine phosphate and 6800-9400mg ibuprofen.

AMA Position Statement on Doctors’ Relationships With Industry 2010

The AMA today released a revised Position Statement to provide guidance to doctors on maintaining ethical relationships with the pharmaceutical industry, the medical device and technology industry, and other care and product suppliers.

The Position Statement on Doctors’ Relationships with Industry 2010 sets out major principles for doctors’ relationships with industry, including managing potential conflicts of interest.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the AMA believes that collaboration between doctors and industry contributes beneficially to the quality of health care that Australians receive.

“However, doctors have a responsibility to ensure that their relationships with industry are consistent with their duties to their patients and to society at large,” Dr Pesce said.

MJA Media Release -  Buprenorphine-naloxone a helpful addition to opioid substitution treatment

People who inject drugs may be less likely to inject buprenorphine-naloxone than other opioid substitutes, according to the results of a recent study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Buprenorphine is used to treat heroin dependence.

AMA Position Statement: Medicines - 2008

AMA Position Statement: Pharmacy Intranet Scheme - 1997