Drug Industry Slightly Tightens Voluntary Code Restricting Gifts to Docs

Jul 14th, 2008 • Posted in: News

While the voluntary measure bans trinkets and restaurant meals, it is silent on consulting fees; various state laws, however, are stepping in to address issue

NEW YORK
The major trade association for the pharmaceutical industry last week announced that it is toughening its voluntary ethics code restricting industry gifts to doctors.

According to Bloomberg, the revised code bans gifts such as pens, mugs, and restaurant meals. The code, however, does not limit fees doctors collect for speaking or consulting, which can run into the thousands of dollars.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says it is asking members to tighten their policies in response to concerns that drug company marketing is affecting the way doctors prescribe medicines, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Critics of the announcement, such as Dr. Jerome Kassirier, a professor of medicine at Tufts and the author of a book on the relationship between drug companies and doctors, dismiss it as “a P.R. ploy. It is really a meaningless gesture,” he told the Baltimore Sun.

The ethical gray areas involving drug company payments and gifts to doctors have been the fulcrum of legal and legislative action in recent years, with several states and the District of Columbia banning all gifts outright or requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose payments to doctors.

In Massachusetts, a pending bill, already unanimously approved in the Senate, would ban all gifts to doctors and would require drug and medical-device companies to report to the state Department of Public Health any speaking or consulting fees paid to physicians. That information also would be posted on the department’s website, according to the Boston Globe.

Sources: Baltimore Sun, July 11 — Boston Globe, July 11 — San Francisco Chronicle, July 11 — Bloomberg, July 10.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, May 19 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 17 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 10 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 3 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 11.

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One Response »

1. Ethics Newsline® » News » Experts Offer Hints for Ethical Gift-Giving on December 8th, 2008 at 11:17 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, July 14 — Related Newsline story, Apr. 7 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 [...]

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