Sleeping with the enemy? A randomized controlled trial of a collaborative health authority/industry intervention to influence prescribing practice

Aims To evaluate the effectiveness of a health authority/pharmaceutical com pany collaborative intervention to influence the choice of proton pump inhi bitors Methods Randomized controlled trial, with general practices forming the uni t of allocation and analysis. Results Constructive working relationships were achieved with five of six p harmaceutical companies involved. One hundred and two out of 140 practition ers in intervention group practices received at least one visit from an ind ustry representative. There were no reports of representatives operating ou tside their agreed remit. Prescribing in both the intervention and control group moved towards that recommended by the guidelines but there was no dif ference between the groups in either the proportion of prescriptions in lin e with the guidelines or the overall cost. Conclusions Health authorities can achieve professional working relationshi ps with the pharmaceutical industry although no changes in practice attribu table to the intervention are achieved. Further work is required to develop effective means to influence prescribing in line with independent guidelin es especially in the context of the development of Primary Care Groups.