The following is excerpted from a press release issued by PhRMA.
Reflecting the continuing commitment of America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies to pursue policies and practices that best serve the needs of patients and the healthcare community, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Board of Directors has adopted measures to enhance the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals.
The newly revised PhRMA Code, which builds on improvements already made in the previous 2002 version, is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that pharmaceutical marketing practices comply with the highest ethical standards.
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Among its changes, the revised Code:
- Prohibits distribution of non-educational items (such as
pens, mugs and other "reminder" objects typically
adorned with a company or product logo) to healthcare
providers and their staff. The Code acknowledges that such
items, even though of minimal value, "may foster
misperceptions that company interactions with healthcare
professionals are not based on informing them about medical
and scientific issues."
- Prohibits company sales representatives from providing
restaurant meals to healthcare professionals, but allows them
to provide occasional meals in healthcare
professionals' offices in conjunction with
informational presentations. The Code also reaffirms and
strengthens previous statements that companies should not
provide any entertainment or recreational benefits to
healthcare professionals.
- Includes new provisions that require companies to ensure
that their representatives are sufficiently trained about
applicable laws, regulations and industry codes of practice
– including this Code – that govern
interactions with healthcare professionals. Companies are
also asked to assess their representatives periodically and
to take appropriate action if they fail to comply with
relevant standards of conduct.
- Provides that each company will state its intentions to
abide by the Code and that company CEOs and Compliance
Officers will certify each year that they have processes in
place to comply, a process patterned after the concept of
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance mechanisms. Companies also are
encouraged to get external verification periodically that
they have processes in place to foster compliance with the
Code. PhRMA will post on its Web site a list of all companies
that announce their pledge to follow the Code, contact
information for company compliance officers, and information
about the companies' annual certifications of
compliance.
The new code is available here.
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