PHARMACEUTICAL POLICIES IN CANADIAN FAMILY MEDICINE TRAINING - SURVEYOF RESIDENCY PROGRAMS

OBJECTIVE To determine whether family medicine residency training prog rams have formal policies regarding interactions between residents and the pharmaceutical industry, to identify existing practices, and to f ind out what issues in industry-physician interaction are addressed du ring the 2-year core curriculum training in Canada. DESIGN Mailed surv ey using a questionnaire. SETTING The 16 Canadian residency training p rograms in family medicine. PARTICIPANTS Program directors of all 16 C anadian family medicine residency training programs replied. MAIN OUTC OME MEASURES Number of programs with formal pharmaceutical policies; n umber of programs offering formal curriculum coverage of related topic s in the field; program practices regarding industry sampling, detaili ng, sponsorship, and access. RESULTS Only four of the 16 programs have formal policies or guidelines. Topics generally covered in core curri culum included critical appraisal (13/16) and cost trends (11/16). Few programs address determinants of prescribing (5/16), marketing techni ques (4/16), provincial drug access programs (6/16), or the Canadian M edical Association guidelines on physician-industry interaction (5/16) . Industry presence and sponsorship in family medicine training is not able, and screening is limited. Great variation exists, and programs a re interested in future initiatives. CONCLUSIONS Family medicine train ing in Canada is attempting to address pharmaceutical issues. Interest is strong, but these issues need to be given more emphasis.