Rome, 18 May - The new regional regulations on scientific information on drugs have been in force in Emilia Romagna since 1 May, approved with a resolution published at the beginning of the year to promote greater transparency in relations between doctors, pharmaceutical companies and Regional Health Service and ensure that the scientific information activity does not overlap with the medical care activity.
The resolution, born from the need to adopt uniform methods in an area that is strategic for the appropriate and rational choice of drugs and for their efficient use in clinical practice, intervenes in all those situations in which doctors of public structures and doctors and family paediatricians with scientific representatives of pharmaceutical companies, who must be registered on a special web platform created by the Region and accessible from the ER Salute portal.
The web platform issues a regional identifier to the pharmaceutical company for each scientific representative: the card must be shown by scientific representatives to access the structures of the Regional Health Service and affiliated with it (printing and delivery of the card is the responsibility of the pharmaceutical company).
With special notices displayed both in the clinics of family doctors and pediatricians and in hospitals, citizens are informed about the times and places intended for meetings between doctors and scientific representatives. Scientific information on the drug is not permitted in hospitalization wards and outpatient clinics (both specialists and those of family doctors and paediatricians) during patient visiting hours. The regional document also regulates the aspects related to the sale of free medicines for promotional purposes and the participation of health professionals in conferences and congresses organized by pharmaceutical companies.
The resolution has obviously met with many criticisms and oppositions since its publication in the Bur (there was also a representative of the regional Fimmg, Henry Dolphins, who called it "detective"). Criticisms relaunched in this first part of May by the president of the Medical Association of Bologna, Giancarlo Pizza, who spoke of a "too restrictive rule", a few days after the entry into force of the provision and to which the president of the regional council replied yesterday Stefano Bonaccini (in the picture): "The meaning of the new and more stringent rules for pharmaceutical informants in Emilia-Romagna is to guarantee ever more sobriety, no concessions to the idea that someone may have, I'm not saying privileges, but certainly more opportunities than necessary" said the governor, supporting the resolution desired by the regional health councilor Sergio Venturi.
As for the criticisms of Pizza, Bonaccini limited himself to saying that “the freedom to criticize in this
Fortunately, the country is part of the democratic debate. I believe we made a right and important choice" concluded the Emilian governor "on par with the one on vaccines on which, as you can see, even those who made fun of us are starting to change their minds because they understood that we got it perfectly right thought the vast majority of people and citizens”.
Related news: Article: "Emilia Romagna, the Region limits 'gifts' to doctors". Editor's note: "A concentration of ignorance"
