Arthritis NSW | Helping you live well with Arthritis

Partnerships

On this page: Pharmaceutical partnerships | Sponsors | "Working Together"

Pharmaceutical Partnerships

We appreciate the opportunity to work together with a number of large pharmaceutical companies and are committed to using the following guide to assist us in having a positive productive partnership. We value these partnerships, as many companies assist us by allocating sponsorship dollars as education grants and also contribute to the development of various programs and resources that benefit the public.

We at Arthritis NSW value the partnerships we have with the Pharmaceutical Industry and we endeavour to follow the "Working Together" guide which outlines how these partnerships can provide positive outcomes for people with Arthritis.

Sponsors

We would like to especially recognise the following companies for their sponsorship of our 40th Birthday celebrations and education programs (in alphabetical order):

	Novartis provides an educational grant in support of the Arthritis NSW program
	Proudly supported by an education grant from Pfizer Australia
	Provided by an untied grant for educational purposes.

‘WORKING TOGETHER’ - A guide to relationships between health consumer organisations and pharmaceutical companies.

On the 28th November 2005 the Hon Tony Abbott MP, Minister for Health and Ageing, launched an important new resource ‘WORKING TOGETHER’- A Guide to relationships between Health Consumer Organisations and Pharmaceutical Companies.

In what is believed to be a world first, the ‘Working Together’ Guide and Supporting Materials have been jointly developed and endorsed by the national peak organisation for health consumers, the Consumers’ Health Forum of Australia, and Medicines Australia, the national association representing the prescription medicines industry.

Health consumer organisations and pharmaceutical companies have been working together for many years in a variety of ways to address the needs of health consumers. This includes developing important information to help consumers take their medicines wisely and safely. However the number and complexity of these relationships has increased, and those involved have begun to seek advice on how best to work together appropriately and effectively. The Guide and Supplementary Materials are designed to be used as a reference tool and a starting point for relationships providing basic principles and suggestions that can be adapted to suit individual needs. If used appropriately, they can assist all parties to confidently work together and generate awareness of common goals.

The Guide and supporting materials contain helpful information on:
- Types of relationships and ways of working together
- Benefits of working together
- Important principles of working together
- A checklist of things to think about when developing and/or maintaining a relationship.

The Guide reinforces the important ingredients of any successful relationship - trust, respect, honesty and integrity.

This new resource was developed through extensive consultation with health consumer organisations and pharmaceutical companies to ensure that all issues and views were considered and catered for in the document. It was also tested to make sure it was a useful document.

Diana Aspinall, Population Health Consultant, Arthritis NSW participated in the consultation process and provided feedback and advice on the content of the final documents.

Funding for this project was provided by a number of research based pharmaceutical companies.

Copies of The Guide and Supporting materials are available on the CHF and Medicines Australia websites (see below) and it is hoped that they will become an ongoing reference for everyone involved in these important partnerships.