Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would also like to thank our analysts for providing us with some quality questions for our round table today. I'm going to use some of your help and throw this question out to our round table.
Dr. Thomas Perry is the chair of the Education Working Group at UBC. He explained to our committee that the pharmaceutical industry has significant influence on prescribing practices through advertising, support for educational initiatives, and paying physicians to provide guidance on medications. Similarly, the independent Patient Voices Network of Canada raised the issue that patient organizations often receive funding from the pharmaceutical industry, placing them in a conflict of interest when advocating access to prescription drugs.
For anyone who wants to take this on, in your view, what steps could be taken to limit the influence of pharmaceutical companies on prescribing practices in patient organizations?