No Free Lunch
The column in the August 15 issue by APA President Nada Stotland, M.D., titled “Psychiatry Across the Pond” raises a number of issues worth discussing.
The first is the cost of registration at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' annual meeting, which in 2008 reached the astronomical level of $1,500 to $2,000. This effectively prevented many members and fellows of the college from attending and may well have discouraged APA members who might have been interested in attending. As a fellow of the college and an APA member, I can attest to this. Related to this cost factor was the college's policy decision to hold the annual meeting without pharmaceutical support. Clearly, this decision led to the high registration cost and the low attendance figures.
Involvement of pharmaceutical companies has been examined, criticized, and restricted in both the United States and Britain. Does this mean that APA might follow the example set by the Royal College? Should APA do so, the consequences might include the following outcomes:
Reduced attendance at the APA annual and fall meetings. | |||||
Reduced or terminated industry-supported symposia, which have formed an integral part of annual meetings for many years. | |||||
Reduced or discouraged involvement of faculty from major medical schools; this is a major source of continuing medical education for rank-and-file members who attend the meeting. | |||||
Reduced income for academics and researchers who are compensated by pharmaceutical companies and who have acknowledged this kind of support. While this may be the aim of those who would reform the relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, are we risking throwing the baby out with the bathwater? | |||||
