Transparency is key when collaborating with healthcare professionals (Guest blog)
16.06.16
Working with healthcare professionals is critical if we are to deliver the innovation necessary to create medicines that meet real patient needs. Working with healthcare professionals makes for better medicines and ultimately benefits patients.
This collaborative attitude has allowed companies like Lilly to deliver innovative medicines and make important medical breakthroughs which have changed the face of healthcare and saved lives. Collaboration is deeply embedded in the culture of the pharmaceutical sector. However, with this collaboration, and in a new spirit of openness for the industry, comes a new responsibility for transparency. It’s important that as the industry brings new medicines to the patients who need them, people understand the nature and need of the collaboration between Lilly and physicians that make these new medicines possible.
The new EFPIA Disclosure Code, will see member companies publishing data about certain payments made by pharmaceutical companies to healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations. This is a culmination of a process which has been underway for two years, and for the first time the public will be able to scrutinize data about the transfer of value between companies like Lilly and those with whom we work.
I see this is an important and necessary step and I applaud all those who have consented to have their data published. By increasing transparency and creating a culture of openness across the industry we have an opportunity to raise levels of trust across the industry, something which will ultimately benefit the industry, healthcare professionals and most importantly, patients.
Data reporting has started in some European countries and will continue through until late June. While this is underway, I will remind myself that we are just embarking on a new leg of our journey to showcase our industry’s openness and transparency. Here at Lilly, we have long been advocates for greater public understanding of how we work with healthcare professionals and organisations. This is something which doesn’t only improve the reputation and understanding of our industry, it will enable us to continue to work collaboratively with healthcare professionals to create better medicines.
