The Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) is a highly respected and influential journal. It doctors independent advice on the drugs they prescribe.
The Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) is a highly respected and influential journal. It doctors independent advice on the drugs they prescribe . But the sad news is that it has to be closed as the government has withdrawing its funding after 40 years. This journal is sent to all doctors and offers doctors advice on heavily marketed pills. With respect to this the senior doctors have signed a statement of protest. Doctors have also sent written protest to ministers, including Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary.
The written protests were signed by many influential people such as Sir Graeme Catto, the president of the General Medical Council, Alan Maynard, professor of health economics at the University of York, and the chief executives of two large patient charities, Asthma UK and Diabetes UK. Peter Fellowes, the chairman of the British Medical Association's prescribing forum, said that GPs would be more vulnerable to the commercial pressures of the pharmaceutical industry and counter pressures from cash-strapped PCTs (primary care trusts) and that would be detrimental to the patients.The government asked National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) to analyze the evidence and rule on whether drugs work and are value for money in the NHS. Nice has become a battlefield where pharmaceutical companies, patient groups, doctors and scientists fight for their own interests. Ike Iheanacho, the DTB's editor, said that the main reason for the government to end its contract is to save money. On the other hand that is what DTB is doing all this while asking doctors to cost-effective medicines.
