Professor Barbara Mintzes
Lead, Evidence, Policy and Influence Collaborative (EPIC), Charles Perkins Centre.
Dr Barbara Mintzes is a research scientist specialising in the study of pharmaceutical policy. Her research focuses on the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and other forms of pharmaceutical promotion on the prescribing and use of medicines. She also performs systematic reviews of clinical trial evidence regarding the health effects of medicines, including both benefit and harm, in terms of outcomes of importance to patients’ health. Dr Mintzes has a doctorate in Health Care and Epidemiology and was Associate Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada prior to joining the University of Sydney in April 2015. At UBC, she worked with the Therapeutics Initiative, a research group that evaluates new drugs as a background to provincial reimbursement decisions and produces an educational bulletin on drug treatments. Currently, she is the lead investigator on an international comparative study examining the influence of national regulations on the amount of safety information that pharmaceutical sales representatives provide to primary care physicians. Dr Mintzes was a lead member of an international WHO and Health Action International (HAI) project that involved developing an educational manual on drug promotion, for pharmacy and medical students. This manual has been translated into Spanish, Russian and French, and incorporated into education curricula in a range of settings. Dr Mintzes maintains strong community engagement, having worked for many years with women’s health and consumer groups, including DES (diethylstilbestrol) Action Canada, and Women and Health Protection (a Canadian non-profit organization). She co-authored the book “Sex, Lies and Pharmaceuticals” with Ray Moynihan, published in 2010.
Dr Mintzes’ research focuses primarily on quality use of medicines, through studies that build the scientific evidence to support appropriate prescribing and use of medicines, and through evaluations of the effectiveness of policies aiming to support quality medicine use.
In the field of pharmaceutical policy, she has conducted research on pharmaceutical promotion, comparing the content of promotional information provided to consumers and physicians with the scientific evidence, and comparing national approaches to regulation and regulatory standards with promotional content. Her second related interest is the study of ‘disease-mongering’, i.e. commercial influences on diagnostic criteria and on the thresholds for treatment of specific conditions.
Current research projects include: a comparative evaluation of regulatory safety advisories on medicines in four countries over a 10-year period; an evaluation of antidepressant use in pregnancy in British Columbia; a systematic review of the beneficial and harmful effects of postpartum domperidone use to stimulate lactation; a systematic review of disease-awareness advertising; and an evaluation of the strength of evidence supporting recommendations for ‘off-label’ use of pharmaceuticals in a prescribing guide.
With the Charles Perkins Centre, Dr Mintzes’ research will evaluate how diagnostic thresholds and treatment outcomes are assessed in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and particularly the influence of commercial interests. A second focus is the study of medications with cardiovascular and metabolic adverse events.
Dr Mintzes has taught courses in critical appraisal and systematic review methods at the postgraduate level, and has been a faculty member for Cochrane Collaboration author training workshops, working with the Cochrane Hypertension Review Group. Another teaching area is on the influence of pharmaceutical promotion and ethics of interactions between health professionals and the industry. She has also been involved in a range of continuing professional education workshops for physicians and pharmacists on specific drugs and therapeutic areas, including contraceptives, anti-muscarinic drugs for overactive bladder, bisphosphonates, cholinesterase inhibitors, antidepressants and influenza drugs.
Current graduate student supervision
Janet Currie, PhD student, Interdisciplinary Studies. University of British Columbia Determinants of off-label medication use. Sept 2014 – ongoing [primary supervisor]
Suzie Maginley. MSc student, School of Population and Public Health.University of British Columbia. Social and economic determinants of potentially inappropriate prescribing behaviours. Sept 2014 – ongoing. [committee member]
Teresa Alves, PhD student. Department of Pharmaco-epidemiology & Clinical Pharmacy, Utrecht University. Disease-awareness advertising campaigns. Nov 2010 – ongoing [committee member]
Academic editor, PLoS ONE
Executive member, Therapeutics Initiative, Canada
Advisory board member, La Revue Prescrire, France
Board Member, Health Action International (HAI-Europe)
Member, International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology
Member, Canadian Association of Health Service and Policy Research
Affiliate Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia
Steering Group Member, Women and Health Protection (Canada)
Member, Pharmaceutical Policy Research Collaboration (PPRC), Canada
Michael Smith Health Research Foundation, Scholar Award 2008 – 2014
Prix Prescrire, for “Understanding and Responding to Pharmaceutical Promotion, A Practical Guide”, October 2013
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Post-doctoral Fellowship; 07/2003 – 06/2006
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| Medication approval pathways in Australia | Ashleigh HOOIMEYER |
| Framework for measurement and monitoring of medicines use and health outcomes policy standards and future state | Judith MACKSON |
| Improving rigour and transparency in problematic spinal cord stimulation research | Kami NAVARRO |
Publications
Book Chapters
- Parker, L., Mintzes, B. (2023). Patient Advocacy Organizations and Conflicts of Interest in Research. In Emily E Anderson (Eds.), Ethical Issues in Community and Patient Stakeholder-Engaged Health Research, (pp. 153-169). Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland AG. [More Information]
- Mintzes, B. (2010). L' experience internationale du DES. In A. Levadou, M. Tournaire (Eds.), DES (Distilbène-Stilboestrol) : Trois générations : réalités - perspectives, (pp. 21-46). Paris: Vigot-Maloine.
- Mintzes, B. (2009). "Ask your doctor" Women and direct-to-consumer advertising. In A. Ford, D. Saibil (Eds.), The Push to Prescribe, (pp. 17-46). Toronto: Canadian Women's Press.
Journals
- Hooimeyer, A., Lines, T., Mirzaei, J., Pande, P., Ganeshamoorthy, S., Fabbri, A., Parker, L., Dunn, A., Mintzes, B. (2024). Conflict of interest policies at Australian medical schools. Internal Medicine Journal, 54(1), 62-73. [More Information]
- Menkes, D., Mintzes, B., Lexchin, J. (2024). Raising the bar for disclosure of industry payments to doctors. BMJ, 384, e078133. [More Information]
- Patterson, T., Beckenkamp, P., Turner, J., Gnjidic, D., Mintzes, B., Bennett, C., Bywaters, L., Clavisi, O., Baysari, M., Ferreira, M., Ferreira, P. (2023). Barriers and facilitators to reducing paracetamol use in low back pain: A qualitative study. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 67. [More Information]
Conferences
- Narayan, S., Yu Ho, K., Penm, J., Mintzes, B., Mirzaei, A., Schneider, C., Patanwala, A. (2019). Missing data reporting in clinical pharmacy research. ASCEPT-PAGANZ, Queenstown, New Zealand: Not applicable.
2024
- Hooimeyer, A., Lines, T., Mirzaei, J., Pande, P., Ganeshamoorthy, S., Fabbri, A., Parker, L., Dunn, A., Mintzes, B. (2024). Conflict of interest policies at Australian medical schools. Internal Medicine Journal, 54(1), 62-73. [More Information]
- Menkes, D., Mintzes, B., Lexchin, J. (2024). Raising the bar for disclosure of industry payments to doctors. BMJ, 384, e078133. [More Information]
2023
- Patterson, T., Beckenkamp, P., Turner, J., Gnjidic, D., Mintzes, B., Bennett, C., Bywaters, L., Clavisi, O., Baysari, M., Ferreira, M., Ferreira, P. (2023). Barriers and facilitators to reducing paracetamol use in low back pain: A qualitative study. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 67. [More Information]
- Davis, C., Wagner, A., Salcher-Konrad, M., Scowcroft, H., Mintzes, B., Pokorny, A., Lew, J., Naci, H. (2023). Communication of anticancer drug benefits and related uncertainties to patients and clinicians: document analysis of regulated information on prescription drugs in Europe. BMJ. [More Information]
- Morrow, R., Mintzes, B., Gray, G., Law, M., Garrison, S., Dormuth, C. (2023). Factors relating to nonpublication and publication bias in clinical trials in Canada: A qualitative interview study. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 89(3), 1198-1206. [More Information]
2022
- Patterson, T., Turner, J., Gnjidic, D., Mintzes, B., Bennett, C., Bywaters, L., Clavisi, O., Baysari, M., Ferreira, M., Beckenkamp, P., D'Alessandro, D. (2022). (C)onsumer focused (E)ducation on p(A)racetamol (S)ide (E)ffects, i(N)adequate (O)utcomes and (W)eaning (CEASE NOW) for individuals with low back pain: results of a feasibility study. BMJ Open, 12(11). [More Information]
- Naudet, F., Gillibert, A., Mintzes, B., Braillon, A., Cosgrove, L. (2022). A Mirror-Image Trial or Smoke and Mirrors? Phase 3b Study on Digital Aripiprazole. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 83(5). [More Information]
- Fabbri, A., Nejstgaard, C., Grundy, Q., Bero, L., Dunn, A., Mohammad, A., Mintzes, B. (2022). Association Between Conflicts of Interest and Authors’ Positions on Harms of Varenicline: a Cross-Sectional Analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(2), 290-297. [More Information]
2021
- Parker, L., Bennett, A., Mintzes, B., Grundy, Q., Fabbri, A., Karanges, E., Bero, L. (2021). "There are ways … drug companies will get into DTC decisions": How Australian drug and therapeutics committees address pharmaceutical industry influence. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 87(5), 2341-2353. [More Information]
- Mintzes, B., Vitry, A. (2021). 'Drugs to avoid': Can we improve prescribing appropriateness? Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, 59(11), 162. [More Information]
- Sharma, A., Minh Duc, N., Luu Lam Thang, T., Nam, N., Ng, S., Abbas, K., Huy, N., Marusic, A., Paul, C., Kwok, J., Mintzes, B., et al (2021). A Consensus-Based Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS). Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(10), 3179-3187. [More Information]
2020
- Hanley, G., Miller, T., Mintzes, B. (2020). A Cohort Study of Psychotropic Prescription Drug Use in Pregnancy in British Columbia, Canada from 1997 to 2010. Journal of Women's Health, 29(10), 1339-1349. [More Information]
- Perry, L., Bhasale, A., Fabbri, A., Lexchin, J., Puil, L., Joarder, M., Mintzes, B. (2020). A descriptive analysis of medicines safety advisories issued by national medicines regulators in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States - 2007 to 2016. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 29(9), 1054-1063. [More Information]
- Bhasale, A., Mintzes, B., Sarpatwari, A. (2020). Communicating emerging risks of SGLT2 inhibitors - Timeliness and transparency of medicine regulators. BMJ, 369, m1107. [More Information]
2019
- Parker, L., Fabbri, A., Grundy, Q., Mintzes, B., Bero, L. (2019). "Asset exchange" - Interactions between patient groups and pharmaceutical industry: Australian qualitative study. BMJ, 367, 1-12. [More Information]
- Mintzes, B. (2019). Are Safety Warnings for Commonly-Used Sleeping Pills Reaching Those who Need them Most? Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 47(3), 442-444. [More Information]
- Perry, L., Bhasale, A., Fabbri, A., Lexchin, J., Puil, L., Joarder, M., Mintzes, B. (2019). Comparative Analysis of Medicines Safety Advisories Released by Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(7), 982-985. [More Information]
2018
- Alves, T., Poplavska, E., Mezinska, S., Salmane-Kulikovska, I., Andersone, L., Mantel-Teeuwisse, A., Mintzes, B. (2018). Disease awareness campaigns in printed and online media in Latvia: Cross-sectional study on consistency with WHO ethical criteria for medicinal drug promotion and European standards. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1-10. [More Information]
- Mintzes, B., Swandari, S., Fabbri, A., Grundy, Q., Moynihan, R., Bero, L. (2018). Does industry-sponsored education foster overdiagnosis and overtreatment of depression, osteoporosis and over-active bladder syndrome? An Australian cohort study. BMJ Open, 8(2), e019027. [More Information]
- Lundh, A., Lexchin, J., Mintzes, B., Schroll, J., Bero, L. (2018). Industry sponsorship and research outcome: systematic review with meta-analysis. Intensive Care Medicine, 44(10), 1603-1612. [More Information]
2017
- Fabbri, A., Grundy, Q., Mintzes, B., Swandari, S., Moynihan, R., Walkom, E., Bero, L. (2017). A cross-sectional analysis of pharmaceutical industry-funded events for health professionals in Australia. BMJ Open, 7(6), 1-8. [More Information]
- Parker, L., Karliychuk, T., Gillies, D., Mintzes, B., Raven, M., Grundy, Q. (2017). A health app developer's guide to law and policy: A multi-sector policy analysis. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 17(1), 1-13. [More Information]
- Scheffer, P., Guy-Coichard, C., Outh-Gauer, D., Calet-Froissart, Z., Boursier, M., Mintzes, B., Borde, J. (2017). Conflict of Interest Policies at French Medical Schools: Starting from the Bottom. PloS One, 12(1), 1-13. [More Information]
2016
- Morgan, S., Gagnon, M., Mintzes, B., Lexchin, J. (2016). A better prescription: Advice for a national strategy on pharmaceutical policy in Canada. Healthcare Policy, 12(1), 18-36. [More Information]
- Vitry, A., Mintzes, B., Lipworth, W. (2016). Access to new cancer medicines in Australia: dispelling the myths and informing a public debate. Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice, 9(3), 1-6. [More Information]
- Hanley, G., Mintzes, B. (2016). In Reply. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 128(2), 406-406. [More Information]
2015
- Jarvinen, T., Michaelsson, K., Jokihaara, J., Collins, G., Perry, T., Mintzes, B., Musini, V., Erviti, J., Gorricho, J., Wright, J., et al (2015). Authors' reply to lee and colleagues. BMJ, 351, 1-2. [More Information]
- Mintzes, B., Lexchin, J., Quintano, A. (2015). Clinical trial transparency: Many gains but access to evidence for new medicines remains imperfect. British Medical Bulletin, 116(1), 43-53. [More Information]
- Perry, T., Wright, J., Mintzes, B., O'Sullivan, C., Tejani, A. (2015). New oral anticoagulants. CMAJ, 187(8), 603-603. [More Information]
2014
- Lexchin, J., Mintzes, B. (2014). A compromise too far: a review of Canadian cases of direct-to-consumer advertising regulation. International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, 26(4), 213-225. [More Information]
- Nguyen, C., MacEntee, M., Mintzes, B., Perry, T. (2014). Information for physicians and pharmacists about drugs that might cause dry mouth: A study of monographs and published literature. Drugs and Aging, 31(1), 55-65. [More Information]
- Hanley, G., Mintzes, B. (2014). Patterns of psychotropic medicine use in pregnancy in the United States from 2006 to 2011 among women with private insurance. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 14(1), 242. [More Information]
2013
- Mintzes, B. (2013). A leap of faith in antidepressant treatment? JAMA Psychiatry, 70(12), 1373-1373. [More Information]
- Fortin, P., Mintzes, B., Innes, M. (2013). A Systematic Review of Intravitreal Bevacizumab for the Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, 3(1), 12-19.
- Mintzes, B., Smith, M. (2013). Evidence-based medicine: Strengths and limitations. Australian Prescriber, 36(S2), 17-21.
2012
- Mintzes, B. (2012). Advertising of Prescription-Only Medicines to the Public: Does Evidence of Benefit Counterbalance Harm? Annual Review of Public Health, 33, 259-277. [More Information]
- Tejani, A., Siu, J., Wright, J., Bassett, K., Musini, V., Mintzes, B., Perry, T. (2012). Another hypertension visit. Canadian Family Physician - Le Medecin de Famille Canadien, 58(8), 829-830.
- Vitry, A., Mintzes, B. (2012). Disease mongering and low testosterone in men: the tale of two regulatory failures. Medical Journal of Australia, 196(10), 619-621. [More Information]
2011
- Mintzes, B., Abi-Jaoude, E., Ford, A. (2011). Antidepressants and pregnancy. CMAJ, 183(5), 585-585. [More Information]
- Mintzes, B. (2011). Is patient information on prescribed drugs just another form of advertising? BMJ, 343, 1-1.
- Mangin, D., Healy, D., Mintzes, B. (2011). Paroxetine is associated with malformation during pregnancy. BMJ, 343(7819), 1-1.
2010
- Mintzes, B., Fortin, P., Wright, J. (2010). Antidépresseurs et grossesse. Les inhibiteurs spécifiques de la recapture de la sérotonine. Medecine, 6(6), 255-257.
- Mintzes, B. (2010). L' experience internationale du DES. In A. Levadou, M. Tournaire (Eds.), DES (Distilbène-Stilboestrol) : Trois générations : réalités - perspectives, (pp. 21-46). Paris: Vigot-Maloine.
- Healy, D., Mangin, D., Mintzes, B. (2010). Risky business. The Hastings Center Report, 40(4), 4-8.
2009
- Mintzes, B. (2009). "Ask your doctor" Women and direct-to-consumer advertising. In A. Ford, D. Saibil (Eds.), The Push to Prescribe, (pp. 17-46). Toronto: Canadian Women's Press.
- Biron, P., Mintzes, B., Lexchin, J., Gagnon, M., Wright, J., Hofmann, A., Musini, V. (2009). Is the DioVantage® patient support program direct-to-consumer advertising? Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 16(2), e285-e286.
- Mintzes, B., Mangin, D. (2009). Opinion: Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines: A counter argument. Future Medicinal Chemistry, 1(9), 1555-1560.
Selected Grants
2022
- EPIC, Mintzes B, Charles Perkins Centre/EPIC Conference on Commercial Determinants of Health
2021
- Socio-cultural Factors and the Use of Therapeutic Opioids in Indonesia, Pols H, Aslani P, Butt S, Glare P, Mintzes B, Kramer E, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Projects (LP)
- COMPare COI: A Real-time Audit of Conflicts of Interest Disclosure, Mintzes B, Holman B, Bero L, Parker L, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Federal)/Australia-Korea Foundation
