GPhC: Only 'trivial gifts' will avoid conflicts of interest
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is urging pharmacists to "refuse all but the most trivial gifts" in an effort to avoid "conflicts of interest" which may impact patient care.
In a joint statement signed by the GPhC and eight other health regulators – including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Pharmaceutical Society Northern Ireland (PSNI) – the regulators outline what they "expect health and social care professionals" to do in order to "avoid, declare and manage conflicts of interest".
"Conflicts can arise in situations where someone’s judgement may be influenced – or perceived to be influenced – by a personal, financial or other interest," the regulators said in the statement, published yesterday (August 8).
As well as refusing "gifts, favours or hospitality if accepting them could be interpreted as an attempt to gain preferential treatment", the regulators urge health professionals to: "put the interest of people in their care before their own"; "maintain appropriate personal and professional boundaries"; and "ensure their professional judgement is not compromised by personal, financial or commercial interests, incentives or similar measures".
The joint statement will be promoted to "registrants, students and to the public, to ensure they all know what we expect", the regulators added.
Alongside the statement, the regulators published case studies illustrating how health professionals should deal with situations where a conflict of interest might arise.
A joint case study from the GPhC, GMC, and the PSNI on the GPhC’s website outlines a scenario where a GP is conflicted over prescription direction (see below).
Issues affecting patient care
Commenting on the joint statement, GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said: "As health and care regulators, we share a commitment to collaborating on issues that affect patient safety and care."
The statement aims to "help give patients and the public the assurance that their interest will always be put above any other interest a health professional may have", he added.
A GPhC spokesperson told C+D that the "collaborative effort…[is] in recognition of the increasing move toward multi-disciplinary teams in health and care".
"The statement is intended to support – not supersede – our existing standards for pharmacy professionals," the spokesperson added.
Conflict of interest case study: prescription direction
The scenario
Dr Williams is a GP in a private practice. Her employer has recently bought a local pharmacy. Dr Williams has been told to encourage her patients to take their prescriptions there, as they will get better service and faster processing times.
What did Dr Williams consider?
Dr Williams considered whether her patients may think that her employers were influencing her judgement, as they have a financial interest in the pharmacy. Dr Williams knew she must always put the interests of her patients before her own or her employer’s, and that she must ensure her professional judgement is not compromised. She was aware that her patients could choose freely which pharmacy dispenses their prescriptions, and so she decided it wouldn’t be appropriate to make recommendations.
What did Dr Williams do?
Dr Williams decided to prioritise the interests of her patients and reminded her employer of her professional responsibilities.
She realised that directing patients to a pharmacy owned by her employer without being honest about this relationship would likely be, or be perceived to be, a conflict of interest. This could damage her patients’ trust in her and in the GP practice.
She decided to make sure her patients understood they can choose where to get their prescription from. Where patients had repeat prescriptions, Dr Williams continued to check with patients that they were happy with their nominated pharmacy, and would advise about a range of options if needed. Dr Williams decided that if any of her patients asked her about that particular pharmacy, she would be open and honest about her employer’s interest in it.
Source: GPhC website
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