Subject: Prescribers Turn the Table on Big Pharma

From: "Kristen Olshanski" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:17:12 -0500

Hello,

This week, the MGH Institute of Health Professions, an academic affiliate of
Massachusetts General Hospital, will launch a new continuing education
documentary and interactive Website that will educate prescribers about drug
industry influence.  Ironically, the program is funded by Pfizer as a result
of the Neurontin settlement. 

I've included a press release below with more information.  Please feel free
to share this information with others. 

Warm Regards,

Kristen Olshanski

Marketing Associate

Hummingbird Pictures

(608)441-5304 direct

(608)712-0211 cell

NEWS RELEASE
For Information:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kristen Olshanski

June 18, 2007
(608) 441-5310

Prescribers Turn the Table on Big Pharma; Pfizer Flips the Bill

Unique Continuing Education Documentary Targets Drug Industry Influence

BOSTON, MA - Frustrated by the pervasive pharmaceutical marketing in health
care and related conflicts of interest that exist, Elissa Ladd, PhD, APRN,
and Clinical Assistant Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions,
is heading up a new program which showcases a documentary entitled: PERx:
Prescribing Evidence-Based Therapies. The film, featuring expert commentary
from renowned medical opinion leaders, and accompanying interactive website
(www.perxinfo.org <http://www.perxinfo.org/> ) will be launched on Monday,
June 18.

The only nurse practitioner to receive a grant as part of the Attorney
<http://www.ohsu.edu/cpgp>  General Consumer and Prescriber Education Grant
Program, Ladd was awarded $399,400 to develop PERx and educate prescribers
about the various levels of drug industry influence.  The program is funded
through the 2004 multi-state settlement resolving allegations that
Warner-Lambert (a division of Pfizer, Inc.) violated state consumer
protection laws when it promoted the epilepsy drug Neurontin for uses not
covered under the drug's FDA approval. 

PERx will illustrate how pharmaceutical industry influence affects the
prescribing behaviors of clinicians, emphasize the ethical implications of
these practices and offer strategies to enhance evidence-based practice.  

"I believe that all prescribers should be keenly aware of how pharmaceutical
marketing can lead to unnecessary prescribing of expensive brand name
drugs," said Ladd.  "The overuse of these high cost medications is putting
an undue burden on our already stressed health care system."

The MGH Institute selected filmmaker and consumer health advocate Kathleen
Slattery-Moschkau <http://www.sideeffectsthemovie.com/> , a leader in
raising awareness about the questionable tactics of the pharmaceutical
industry, to produce the educational documentary.  Slattery-Moschkau's
previous films, Side Effects (starring Katherine Heigl) and Money Talks:
Profits Before Patient Safety have also been used as an important resource
for consumers, health organizations, doctors and medical schools across the
country.   

"With billions being spent on drug promotion, the ability to distinguish
good marketing from good science plays a critical role in public health and
the affordability of health care overall," said Slattery-Moschkau. "PERx
provides the health care community with access to unbiased information and
the tools they need to better serve their patients."

About the MGH Institute of Health Professions

The MGH Institute of Health Professions (www.mghihp.edu
<http://www.mghihp.edu/> ), an academic affiliate of Massachusetts General
Hospital, is an innovative and independent post-baccalaureate school that
operates within the framework of Partners HealthCare System. A progressive
leader in developing comprehensive models of health care education, the MGH
Institute prepares advanced practice professionals in the fields of nursing,
physical therapy, speech-language pathology, medical imaging and clinical
investigation through a distinctive combination of academic study, clinical
practice and research. An average of nearly 800 students are enrolled in
graduate level degree and certificate programs, with an increasing number of
courses available online. The Institute is accredited by the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges.

[Editors: Our style preference is to not spell out 'MGH' on a first
reference to our name, as it incorrectly implies the Institute is a
department within the hospital. Alternately, we recommend, "The MGH
Institute of Health Professions, an academic affiliate of Massachusetts
General Hospital."]

About Filmmaker and Consumer Health Advocate Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau has taken a unique journey from working for the
pharmaceutical industry to becoming a filmmaker and consumer health advocate
who educates people through entertainment. Her work has prompted people to
ask better questions about prescription drugs and think more about what they
put into their bodies.  

News organizations like the New York Times, NBC Nightly News, CBS News, CNN,
USA Today, The Economist, and Atlantic Monthly, as well as more than 100
other media outlets worldwide have turned to her for real advice on how
people can become better consumers of prescription drugs and take control of
their health. 

PERx Documentary Featured Interviewees

*         Elissa Ladd, PhD, APRN, Clinical Assistant Professor at the MGH
Institute of Health Professions

*         Jerry Avorn, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

*         David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, Director of MGH Institute for Health
Policy; IOM Report Committee Member 

*         Sidney M. Wolfe, MD, Director, Public Citizen's Health Research
Group 

*         Nancy Crigger, Ph.D, MA, ARNP, Associate Professor of Nursing at
William Jewel College 

*         Joel Lexchin, MD, World Health Organization Consultant

*         Susan Reverby, Ph.D, Professor at Wellesley College, Former FDA
Panelist 

*         Bradley Lewis, MD, Ph.D, New York University 

*         Ken Kaitin, Ph.D, Director, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug
Development 

*         Shannon BrownLee, investigative journalist and fellow at the New
American Foundation

*         Gene Carbona, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales for The
Medical Letter 

###