Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Scotland

The ABPI in Scotland is an arm of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. It works together with the Scottish Parliament, patients, healthcare professionals and managers of the NHS to 'ensure that the people of Scotland have access to the best quality healthcare, including modern medicines'.^[1]

The ABPI represents 75 companies in the United Kingdom that research, manufacture and supply 80 per cent of the medicines that the national health service prescribes.

ABPI commissioned a pharmaco-economic research from NERA Economic Consulting on two particular disease areas in Scotland—coronary heart disease and diabetes showing that the level of expenditure on cholesterol lowering medicines—statins is still profitable for NHS in overall terms. ^[2]

In 2002 nurses became authorised to write out prescriptions and since then they have been bombarded with approaches from pharmaceutical companies. This new link between nurses and representatives of pharmaceutical companies is receiving much attention after the doctors/pharma link:

"prescribing decisions may be affected by a 'free lunch culture' which sees doctors whisked off to conferences and briefing seminars that are often held in plush hotels or overseas."^[3]

In responce to accusations, the spokesman of ABPI Scotland claimed that the industry cannot influence the choices nurses make: 'The patient is protected by a number of safeguards. First of all the industry is very regulated in what kind of hospitality can be offered...The values of gifts are limited to GBP 6 and hospitality may not be worth more than the medical professional could normally afford. The professions are also protected by their own rules and guidelines, which insist that they must always act only in the interests of the patient.'^[4]