PhRMA Announces Revised Voluntary Guidelines To Prohibit Gifts To Physicians

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry;  Public Health
Article Date: 14 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America on Thursday released revised voluntary marketing guidelines that ban gifts from pharmaceutical companies to physicians, Bloomberg/Indianapolis Star reports (Bloomberg/Indianapolis Star, 7/11). In addition, under the guidelines, pharmaceutical companies can no longer provide physicians with meals at restaurants and entertainment or recreation. According to the guidelines, pharmaceutical company sales representatives should focus on efforts to inform physicians about products and discuss related scientific and educational information (Seaman, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/11). The guidelines also require increased disclosure of speakers or consultants financed by pharmaceutical companies (Cohen, Newark Star-Ledger, 7/11).

"We are ... concerned that our interactions with health care professionals not be perceived as inappropriate by patients or the public at large," PhRMA said in a statement (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/11). PhRMA President Billy Tauzin said, "These are critically important changes to help build more trust and credibility and help benefit patients" (Newark Star-Ledger, 7/11). He added, "This updated code fortifies our companies' commitment to ensure their medicines are marketed in a manner that benefits patients and enhances the practice of medicine" (Tansey, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/11).

Tauzin said that all member companies have endorsed the guidelines and that PhRMA will certify their compliance publicly on the group Web site. He added that, although PhRMA will not impose penalties for violations of the guidelines, media scrutiny and industry competition will encourage compliance (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 7/10).

Allowable Practices
According to the Baltimore Sun, the guidelines target practices that "are already losing favor" and will "eliminate only a small fraction of the estimated $20 billion" that pharmaceutical companies spend annually on marketing to physicians (Rockoff, Baltimore Sun, 7/11). For example, the guidelines allow pharmaceutical companies to continue to pay physicians for speaking appearances or consulting arrangements (Lazar, Boston Globe, 7/11).

In addition, although the guidelines require pharmaceutical companies to establish annual limits on the amount paid to physicians who deliver educational lectures on their behalf, they do not specify the amount of such limits (Newark Star-Ledger, 7/11). The guidelines also allow pharmaceutical company sale representatives to continue to provide physicians with meals in their offices as they promote their products (Baltimore Sun, 7/11).

Reaction
"The new code is a very important step forward for the industry and we welcome that," Association of American Medical Colleges chief scientific officer David Korn said. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) said, "I'm encouraged by the industry's attempt to clean up its act." Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that the guidelines will help increase oversight of pharmaceutical company marketing practices but added that Congress should pass a bill (S 2029) he has introduced to require drug and medical device companies to disclose to the public certain gifts and payments to physicians (CQ HealthBeat, 7/11).

However, Jerome Kassirer, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, said, "This announcement is a PR ploy. It really is a meaningless gesture" (Baltimore Sun, 7/11). Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen, said of the guidelines, "They symbolically appear to cut out some small items but left huge items on the table such as buying lunch for everyone in a doctor's office" (Bloomberg/Indianapolis Star, 7/11). John Santa, director of the health ratings center at Consumer Reports, said, "It's best for consumers if there's competition around price and not competition around influence, reciprocity and advertisements, and I don't think we see that here" (Baltimore Sun, 7/11).

NPR's "Day to Day" on Thursday reported on guidelines (Brand, "Day to Day," NPR, 7/10).

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