Beautify Me !

The APA today released its new code of conduct for working with the pharmaceutical industry. The principles and guidelines don’t provide a lot of specifics and reflect a lot of what the APA has already said it would do, focusing on transparency and the need to be clear about what is education and what is marketing.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the guidelines was the organization’s purpose in putting them out — not to eliminate a relationship with Big Pharma, but rather to develop a “collaborative relationship” with industry, APA immediate past president Alan Schatzberg, who convened the task force to develop the guidelines, tells the Health Blog. “It really is not in anyone’s best interest to shut out an industry voice.”