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