Payments to doctors in Australia are to be scrutinised after marketing tactics are exposed

The Australian Medical Association has said it is to review its policies on disclosure after a former drug industry insider spoke openly on a radio programme about how “doctors are being used to sell drugs to patients.”

The review will look specifically at whether doctors’ payments from companies should be disclosed to patients, said Steve Hambleton, the association’s president.

Brendan Shaw, chief executive of the industry body Medicines Australia, also said that greater transparency would be considered as part of a review of the industry’s self regulatory code of conduct.

Petra Helesic, who marketed drugs for more than a …