Prescription Medicines Code responsibilities

The Code is administered by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority which is responsible for the provision of advice, guidance and training on the Code as well as for the complaints procedure. Complaints which are made under the Code about promotional material or the promotional activities of companies are considered by the Code of Practice Panel and, where required, by the Code of Practice Appeal Board. Reports on completed cases are published quarterly by the Authority in its Code of Practice Review which is available on request. 

Such support can involve responding to complaints about promotional activities, which may come from other companies or external agencies such as, in the UK, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority. A medically qualified person should certainly have overall responsibility for clinical drug safety issues (see Section 9.3.6). Pharmaceutical physicians are usually involved in the training of sales representatives. In addition, a good pharmaceutical physician can be a credible ambassador for the company when lecturing to external audiences or dealing with the communication media. 

Except in the United States of America and New Zealand, where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medicines is allowed, companies are not allowed to communicate directly with patients. The Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPl) Code of Practice has been relaxed a little in this area in recent years and companies can now communicate in a very limited fashion with the general public. Clause 20.2 of the Code allows the provision of non-promotional information either in response to a direct enquiry from an individual or via press conferences, press announcements, lectures and media reports, public relations activities and the like. 

---