Minnesota Law Limiting Pharmaceutical Company Gifts To Physicians Could Lead To Similar Laws In Other States

Main Category: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 15 Oct 2007 - 10:00 PDT

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A Minnesota law that limits gifts from pharmaceutical companies could lead to similar laws in other states, the New York Times reports. Under the law, Minnesota since 2005 has limited gifts from pharmaceutical companies to physicians to a value of $50 annually, and the "effect on drug makers has been profound," the Times reports. In the year after the limit took effect, the number of visits by pharmaceutical company sales representatives reported by primary care physicians in Minnesota decreased at about twice the rate reported by physicians nationwide, according to ImpactRx.

No other states have implemented similar limits, but New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram (D) in September announced the formation of a task force that will examine proposals to limit gifts from pharmaceutical companies to physicians and said she plans to examine the Minnesota limit. According to the Times, the "interest in legislation to register or limit the food, gifts and money that drug and device makers lavish on doctors stems from growing concerns that these benefits lead doctors to prescribe more, and more expensive, drugs and devices, raising the costs of health care and changing care to patients."

Milgram said, "When you see a doctor, you should have confidence that the advice you get is based on what's best for you and not on some financial incentives or gifts that the doctor is getting." However, Leslie Pott, a spokesperson for AstraZeneca, said, "We believe it is important that physicians have access to the latest information on our drugs," and, "given a physician's demanding clinical schedule, the most efficient time for doctors and medical staff to meet with representatives is often during lunch hour" (Harris, New York Times, 10/12).

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