[Pharmwaste] New guidelines restrict sales reps' gifts to doctors

[Thompson.Virginia at epamail.epa.gov]

The Associated Press reported over the weekend that PhRMA announced a
revised code of conduct for sales reps, banning restaurant meals &
entertainment, as well as knickknacks with company and product logos.
Here are two links to the articles.  The first, from the Minneapolis-St.
Paul Star Tribune, is the Associated Press article.  The second link is
from Adweek.com.

I am re-printing the AP article below the 2 links.

http://www.startribune.com/business/24314904.html?location_refer=Business
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/client/e3i35b5907ab9b3ce6fc1eac00e426667fb


Under new guidelines, drug sales reps won't give doctors mugs, pens, or
pay for big meals
By MARLEY SEAMAN , Associated Press
July 11, 2008


NEW YORK - Drug company sales representatives will have to stop doling
out coffee mugs and pens that push their products when they visit
doctor's offices. But they can still sneak in the occasional free lunch.


Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Thursday
that it has revised its conduct code for interacting with health care
professionals. The updated guidelines ban the knicknacks bearing company
and product logos.


Sales representatives are prohibited from providing restaurant meals and
entertainment or recreation. But they can still provide the occasional,
modest meal in a healthcare professional's office "in conjunction with
informational presentations," according to a statement from PhRMA.


The updated code also emphasizes that drug companies should separate any
funding they provide for continuing medical education from their sales
and marketing departments. It notes that the funding should support
education "on a full range of treatment options and not to promote a
particular medicine."


PhRMA said meetings between sales representatives and doctors should be
focused on informing health care professionals about products, sharing
scientific and educational information and supporting research and
education.


The new rules take effect Jan. 1.


The association represents pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
and is made up of executives from companies in the industry. Its CEO,
Billy Tauzin, said he hopes the code additions will create "more
credible" standards for doctor-sales rep interactions.


"I don't think you'll find a physician who will acknowledge that the
gift of a pen or a cup with a company's name on it influences their
prescribing patterns," he said. "But there are people who believe that,
and as long as that's a perception out there we felt we ought to end
that.


Tauzin said his association got conflicting reactions from doctors about
whether to eliminate the free lunches, but he noted doctors are free to
stop the meals themselves.


The trade association said in January that it was considering revisions
to its 2002 code. Its executives said then that they've seen a backlash
over sales and marketing practices.


Critics of these sales practices have included the nonprofit
organization No Free Lunch, which is run by a New York-based internist.
It urges medical school students to pledge that they'll shun free gifts
or meals from the drug industry.


No Free Lunch also promotes a pen amnesty program on its Web site, where
it offers to replace with "no questions asked" drug company pens that
doctors receive. It states that the pens will be "donated to a
worthwhile cause."


Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wisc., said in a statement that he was "encouraged
by the industry's attempt to clean up its act." Kohl co-sponsored the
Physician Payments Sunshine Act to create a national registry for
payments doctors take from companies.


Dr. Brian Hurley, president of the American Medical Student Association,
said the new rules are an improvement but they don't go far enough. He
said gifts given to doctors as educational materials or occasional meals
are still gifts. "Aggressive" marketing practices have made drug
companies a lot of money, he said, and they have little incentive to
stop those tactics.


"Educational gifts or educational programming that pharma's member
companies put together are marketing in disguise," he said.


Members of PhRMA are required to state their intention to comply with
the code, and Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly &
Co. AstraZeneca PLC and EMD Serono were among the companies that did so
Thursday.


AstraZeneca said its U.S. representatives will not give doctors items
including pens, pads of paper, hand soap and tissues as part of sales
visits. The company said its sales representatives will still be able to
offer educational items like teaching models if they "are not of
substantial value."


AstraZeneca said it will still support medical events for health care
professionals through grants to independent providers, and the British
company says it will not give any guidance about the content or faculty
of those events and will provide no direct support for meals.


Lilly said in a separate statement that it will comply with or exceed
the new guidelines. It said the revised code will help ensure "the
information exchange with healthcare providers continues to be
appropriate and ethical."


__


AP Business Writer Tom Murphy contributed to this report.
               © 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.


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Virginia Thompson
Sustainable Healthcare Sector Coordinator
Office of Environmental Innovation (3EA40)
US Environmental Protection Agency Region 3
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA  19103
Voice:  (215) 814-5755; Fax (215) 814-2783
thompson.virginia at epa.gov
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