Pharma meetings are essential in communication terms. Some doctors are so beset by emergencies that they cannot set aside during duty hours for representatives from the industry. Others work in laboratories and theatres without any possibilities to make structured presentations. Cutting edge research findings have to be presented by senior industry personnel and by practicing doctors, who cannot be expected to make personal and individual calls on every entry in a customer list. Peer interaction adds value to pharma meetings, and it is invaluable to bring experts from distant sites to a common forum. The health care industry is marked by s https://www.bionova.co.in/rapid technological developments, and pharma meetings are effective ways of continuing medical education. Epidemics, changes in the incidence of public health conditions, and adverse findings about established drugs, are examples of emergency communication needs, which are best met by pharma meetings. Everyone from a budding medical intern to the most accomplished consultant can benefit from pharma meetings. There is no cost-effective substitute to pharma meetings for the best companies in the industry, and all stake holders gain from them. Every serious player in the industry has to conduct pharma meetings regularly, though this has to be done with due discretion.
The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) have laid down comprehensive guidelines on how to arrange and to conduct pharma meetings. Adherence to these codes can help sponsors gain maximum mileage from investments in pharma meetings. They not only cost less, but gain more goodwill and produce results, as well. Independent observers and pressure groups looking in on such pharma meetings will have nothing about which they can protest, and the best doctors will not hesitate to take part. PMCPA and ABPI standards for pharma meetings relate to choice of venues, appropriate catering, and hospitality, as well as to the kinds of information materials and aids which may be distributed amongst participants. The basic objective is to ensure that the facilities for participating doctors are proportional to the technical value and dimensions of information that is to be imparted.