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Dutton says the PhRMA code revision banning the distribution ofnon-educational items such as pens, mugs and other "reminder" items tohealthcare providers and staff, reinforces the industry's goal to educatehealthcare professionals in order to benefit patients.
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"Education is the key to making the representative's visit a valuable onefor clinicians," says Dutton. "We believe a next step -- the adoption ofuniform national certification standards -- would further demonstrate theindustry's commitment to broadening the knowledge and expertise ofrepresentatives," he adds.
Dutton says a national certification validated by an independentorganization would assure physicians that all certified representatives meet abaseline of science, compliance, and business knowledge. "Unbranded educationthat includes therapeutic knowledge, disease management, pharmacology, andpatient quality-of-life issues will help representatives be a more valuableresource to physicians who have a critical need to have the most current andaccurate information about medicine and advances in healthcare," Dutton says.
The PhRMA code has long encouraged undergraduate degrees in the sciences,and pharmaceutical companies provide extensive product training andprofessional development programs, Dutton says. "But required courseworkproviding more in-depth scientific knowledge and a greater understanding ofthe business of healthcare is a critical tool in helping pharmaceuticalrepresentatives make a more valuable contribution to the physician andultimately to the patient," he adds.
Dutton says CMR Institute's 2007 research, which included physician focusgroups and quantitative surveys, showed that more than 90 percent ofphysicians saw pharmaceutical representatives and placed a high value onwell-educated representatives who demonstrate a high level of scientific anddisease state knowledge.
CMR Institute was founded in 1966 by physicians in response to a need forincreased therapeutic knowledge and industry expertise, and has educated morethan 150,000 representatives from the nation's top pharmaceutical companies.
CMR Institute is an independent not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization thathas provided advanced education and certification and set national standardsfor industry pharmaceutical representatives for 42 years. Its courses andcertification programs are developed by leading industry experts anddistinguished healthcare professionals from prestigious universities andacademic medical centers, and include content in areas such as science,disease management, ethics and business. CMR Institute's not-for-profitstatus allows it to continually invest its resources in its curriculum torealize its mission, which is to advance knowledge to enhance healthcare. Fora virtual visit to CMR Institute, see http://www.cmrinstitute.org.
SOURCE CMR Institute
