A new campaign by Mental Health Europe (MHE) has launched an infographic highlighting the often-undisclosed links between doctors and €billion drugs manufacturers.

The Shedding Light campaign is examining transparency issues between the mental health sector and the pharmaceutical industry.

Financial and professional relationships between the industry and healthcare professionals are inevitable and have many positive benefits, but they can also take the form of one-sided marketing.

Across Europe pharmaceutical marketing budgets are being used to pay health professionals to promote particular products and to influence the publication and interpretation of research results. MHE is concerned that these often-undisclosed financial relationships are affecting mental health care.

The new infographic produced by Shedding Light warns that financial relationships between doctors and drugs manufacturers could be undermining informed choice for doctors and patients, and be leading to a worrying reliance on drugs as the main form of treatment for mental ill health.

Infographic

The infographic is part of a wider effort by Shedding Light to raise awareness about the importance of transparency in the field of mental health. The campaign is encouraging states across Europe to the adopt sunshine laws, legislation which obliges health professionals to publicly disclose financial relationships with companies. To date, only a handful of countries have this type of transparency law.

Marcin Rodzinka, the Shedding Light Project Coordinator, said:

“Few people realise doctors enter into financial relationships with drugs manufacturers. It is naïve to think that all of them are legitimate examples of research activities. Our infographic hopes to spread awareness of this practice and to highlight the need for transparent relations between the pharmaceutical industry and the health care sector.

“Independent professionals, transparent and collaborative relations with the pharmaceutical industry, and informed and empowered patients are all essential to ensure adequate and appropriate healthcare, particularly mental health care.”

Download infographic

To download the Shedding Light Infographic click here (PDF) 

More information

For more information about Shedding Light click here.