[A proposal for the prevention of ethical problems related to drug promotion: a national network for drug information].

The promotional activities of pharmaceutical companies are becoming an increasingly hot topic among healthcare workers and the general public. There are many studies in the literature claiming that drug promotion may lead to ethical problems, irrational use of medication, and increased costs, as well as negative effects on the patient-physician relationship and the medical profession. When considering that healthcare workers generally acquire their knowledge from the pharmaceutical industry, the problems mentioned, which are indeed of paramount importance, and the need for effective and sustainable interventions are clearly revealed. Many kinds of interventions have been recommended by various authorities and studies in order to prevent the kinds of problems mentioned above, including training healthcare workers, publishing professional codes to serve as guidelines about which professional values should be protected and how to cope with different situations in relationship to the pharmaceutical industry, or applying the business ethics codes of the pharmaceutical companies. Studies that assessed the effectiveness of different interventions, however, revealed that educating healthcare workers about marketing methods and state regulations are the only effective interventions. In this article, after defining the problem, a proposed national network for drug information is to decrease the negative effects of drug promotion and to promote the rational choice of medicines is described. According to the World Health Organization, rational use of medicine is the most effective, safe, applicable/suitable, and, lastly, the most cost effective option. A national network that will gather drug information by compiling evidence-based knowledge and taking rational use of medicine measures into account should be established. It should transmit information to all healthcare workers in a fast, equal, up to date, easily accessible, and free way. The network should also support institutional regulations that aim to limit the promotional activities of pharmaceutical companies.