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Co-operation between patient organisations and the drug industry in Finland

Author

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  • Hemminki, Elina
  • Toiviainen, Hanna K.
  • Vuorenkoski, Lauri

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the co-operation between patient organizations and the drug industry in Finland prior to critical discussions on the topic. The data were gathered by a questionnaire survey of 85 patient organisations (response rate 65%, n = 55) and 20 drug firms (response rate 100%) in 2003, and by interviewing 13 organisations and surveying their web-pages and other documents in 2004. In the surveys, half of the patient organisations and 80% of the drug firms considered co-operation important. Most (71%) organisations reported financial support from the drug industry. Most organisations and drug firms had experienced problems. Common problems for organisations were too little or too unpredictable support from industry, and threats to independence and objectivity. Drug firms frequently mentioned unclear rules of co-operation. The patient organisation interviews exhibited similar themes and findings to those found in the surveys, revealing the complexity and importance of co-operation in organisation activities, and the variation between organisations. This case study from Finland showed that co-operation between patient organizations and the drug industry was common, many-sided and not usually transparent. The close connections between patient organizations and commercial companies, particularly drug firms, raise several policy issues and the need for action.

Suggested Citation

  • Hemminki, Elina & Toiviainen, Hanna K. & Vuorenkoski, Lauri, 2010. "Co-operation between patient organisations and the drug industry in Finland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1171-1175, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:8:p:1171-1175
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    Cited by:

    1. Susanna Priolo & Andras Fehervary & Phil Riggins & Kathy Redmond, 2012. "Assessing Stakeholder Opinion on Relations between Cancer Patient Groups and Pharmaceutical Companies in Europe," The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Springer;International Academy of Health Preference Research, vol. 5(2), pages 127-139, June.
    2. Britten, Nicky & Denford, Sarah & Harris-Golesworthy, Faith & Jibson, Steph & Pyart, Nigel & Stein, Ken, 2015. "Patient involvement in drug licensing: A case study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 289-296.
    3. Shai Mulinari & Andreas Vilhelmsson & Emily Rickard & Piotr Ozieranski, 2020. "Five years of pharmaceutical industry funding of patient organisations in Sweden: Cross-sectional study of companies, patient organisations and drugs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Baggott, Rob & Jones, Kathryn, 2014. "The voluntary sector and health policy: The role of national level health consumer and patients' organisations in the UK," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 202-209.
    5. Rickard, Emily & Ozieranski, Piotr & Mulinari, Shai, 2019. "Evaluating the transparency of pharmaceutical company disclosure of payments to patient organisations in the UK," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(12), pages 1244-1250.
    6. Mulinari, Shai & Pashley, Dylan & Ozieranski, Piotr, 2022. "Advancing international comparison of pharmaceutical industry funding of patient advocacy: Focus on Denmark," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(12), pages 1256-1262.
    7. Cinzia Colombo & Paola Mosconi & Walter Villani & Silvio Garattini, 2012. "Patient Organizations’ Funding from Pharmaceutical Companies: Is Disclosure Clear, Complete and Accessible to the Public? An Italian Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-8, May.

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