Colombia is launching the initiative ‘Médicos sin Marca’ or ‘Unbranded Doctors’ aiming for the independent practice of medicine

As part of the Forum on Conflicts of Interest in Medical Practice. What can be done?, held at the Javeriana University of Bogotá, saw the launch of the initiative Unbranded Doctors. Its aim is to promote a style of medical practice that will be free of conflicts of interest and independent of the effects of marketing by the pharmaceutical and medical aids industry.

This initiative, inspired by Médicos sin Marca Chile is based on a transfer of know-how from Chile, and is the first of its kind in the country. Its launch is funded by the project ACTUE Colombia, which is funded by the European Commission and managed by FIIAPP.

The talks given at the Forum placed emphasis on the importance of disclosing and dealing with conflicts of interest arising from the relationship between the industry and health professionals, which can lead to mismatches in the prescribing, investigation and education of health professionals.

Emphasis was also placed on the importance, within civil society and under the leadership of doctors, of creating initiatives of this kind which help to raise awareness among professionals and clients, and which have an impact beyond the medical profession itself on educational institutions and the framing of public policy.

“Médicos sin Marca Colombia” is collectively led by the Bioethics Institute of the Javeriana University, the Centre for Medicinal Reflection, Information and Authority of the National University, and the company Ifarma and counts on the participation of doctors in various parts of the country.