Congress hears push for 'academic detailing' funds

Medical Marketing and Media, Sep 2008 by Arnold, Matthew

A GROUP OF SENATORS and representatives has introduced a bill that would fund a test-run for so-called "academic detailing," whereby supposedly unbiased health professionals funded by non-commercial entities detail doctors just as drug company sales reps do.

The Independent Drug Education and Outreach Act of 2008 (or IDEA) is sponsored by Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Robert Casey (DPA), along with Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Henry Waxman (D-CA).

The legislation would:

* provide unspecified grants to medical and pharmacy schools and societies, academic medical centers and research institutes to develop educational materials on the safety, efficacy and cost of drugs and other treatments, and;

* fund 10 grants to government, non-profit and academic entities to train and deploy healthcare professionals to educate physicians and other prescribers.

"This bill will provide an important alternative to the way doctors currently get their information about drugs-from the drug companies themselves," said Sen. Kohl in a statement. "By providing physicians with thorough, independent research on all the drugs available to them, we believe we can improve the quality of healthcare and reduce the cost of prescription drugs in America."

The lawmakers pointed to a program in Pennsylvania that they said saved $120 per doctor per month for a single class of drugs, and $378 per month among the heaviest prescribers.

The bill says recipients must "receive no support from any entity that manufactures products used to treat the medical conditions discussed, or from any organization funded by such entities" for a year prior to submission. Critics say that bars even most institutional providers, and that the bill violates Constitutional speech protections.

"Under the rubric of 'academic detailing,' the government can tell doctors whatever it wants about drugs, while drug companies can only say what the FDA allows," said John Kamp, executive director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communications. "Sorry, Sen. Kohl, but the government has a conflict of interest here, and such a double standard turns the First Amendment upside down."

Regardless, with elections on the horizon, the bill, introduced just before Congress left for August recess, is unlikely to move anytime soon.

-Matthew Arnold