Press Releases

April 9, 2007

Prominent Teaching Hospital Launches Major Education Initiative Aimed at Better Understanding Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices

Initiative Part of the $21 Million Attorney General Consumer and Prescriber Education Grant Program

Planet Productions, an expert in custom e-learning solutions, today announced that The Portland Veterans Affairs Research

and Education Foundation in cooperation with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine have teamed up with Planet Productions to develop a series of e-learning courses designed to provide health care professionals and consumers information relating to prescription drugs, including the way in which drugs are marketed. This initiative is part of a $21 million Consumer and Prescriber Education grant program set in place by a Warner-Lambert, a division of Pfizer, Inc., ruling on criminal and civil charges.

May 2004, Warner-Lambert, a division of Pfizer, Inc., entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance/Discontinuance with the Attorneys General of 50 States and the District of Columbia to settle allegations that they conducted an unlawful marketing campaign for the epilepsy drug, Neurontin®. Among other things, the settlement provides for a $21 million Consumer and Prescriber Education grant program to be administered by a Special Committee of State Attorneys General pursuant to an Oregon Court Order and an Attorney General Memorandum of Understanding.

The discussion around the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing practices continues to develop. In fact, some reports indicate that drug companies spend twice as much on marketing as they do on research. “Making health professionals and consumers aware of pharmaceutical industry marketing practices is so important,” said Stephanie Halvorson, MD, Assistant Professor, Dept of Medicine, OHSU. “Our goal with this initiative is to assist health professionals and consumers in developing the knowledge and strategies for evaluating existing sources of drug information, and for accessing unbiased sources of information about drugs.”

About the E-Learning Courses

Specifically the courses will focus on the FDA drug approval process, how to make informed prescribing decisions, and how pharmaceutical companies work to influence physician’s prescribing behavior. The three courses, due out July 2007, will center first on educating health care providers and the second phase will focus on educating consumers of health care.

“Thinking and learning skills can be successfully developed using simulation/role-playing/games. We are leveraging these techniques for this initiative and are focused on very interactive and engaging courses to ensure the information is real and relevant to each individual completing the program,” said Dean McCrea, vice president, sales and marketing for Planet Productions. “This approach will effectively assist health professionals and consumers in developing the knowledge and skills they need to evaluate pharmaceuticals, marketing techniques and understanding the potential areas of conflicts-of-interest.”

The goal of the program is to improve prescribing practices by:

• Educating health professionals at all levels of training about the drug development and approval process;
• Making health professionals aware of pharmaceutical industry marketing practices and assisting them in developing the knowledge and skills to evaluate those marketing techniques;
• Making health professionals aware of the conflicts-of-interest created by accepting pharmaceutical promotions, and helping them to minimize these conflicts; and
• Providing examples and strategies for evaluating existing sources of drug information, and for accessing unbiased sources of information about drugs.

Learners will be evaluated before and after the training to measure the learning that occurred. In addition materials will be made available outside of the VA/OHSU so all practitioners nationwide can benefit from the program.

About Planet Productions

Planet Productions develops custom e-Learning programs to address business challenges through a creative, collaborative and flexible design process. Established in 1991, Planet Productions is based in Portland, Oregon. For more information, visit www.planetproductions.com, or call us at 503-241-1644.

About OHSU

As the state's only health and research university, OHSU brings together education, research, patient care and community service. While each component has its own individual goals and mission, all of them are bound together by a common vision - to improve the well-being of Oregonians.

About The Portland VA Research Foundation

The Portland Veterans Affairs Research and Education Foundation (PVAREF) is an independent nonprofit corporation that supports research and educational activities at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). The establishment of such corporations was allowed by an act of Congress to provide a flexible mechanism for the receipt and administration of funds to support academic activities. The sole purpose of non-profit research corporations housed in VA facilities is to advance the research and educational missions of the Department of Veterans Affairs through the support of activities approved by the Research and Development (R&D) or Education Committees of VA facilities.

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