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