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Practice-based commissioning means pharma firms should increase support, say GPs

14-Oct-08

Pharmaceutical representatives must change the way they work with primary care in the wake of practice-based commissioning (PBC), a survey of GPs suggests.

Consultancy company the Hay Group questioned 50 GPs heading up PBC groups. The results showed that 58 per cent of those surveyed thought that the pharmaceutical industry needed to change how it engaged with GPs, becoming more flexible and improving levels of support, in order to maximise potential benefits from PBC.

The report concludes that pharmaceutical companies should be more focused on outcomes, providing commissioners with the business case they need in order to make investment decisions that benefit patients.

A spokeswoman for the Hay Group said that GPs recognised the benefit of working in partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry, but thought the relationship needed to shift to a more collaborative model to reflect the changing nature of the NHS.

‘Pharma must move from supplier to partner, sharing commercial skills – such as business planning, budgeting and project management – in order to generate clear long-term benefits for clinicians and their patients, and ‘lock in’ their firm’s services,’ she said.

tom.moberly@haymarket.com

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