RE: Pharma Gifts to MDs

[Guest guest]

Might underwriting a medical conference also be considered a gift ?

sharron fuchs dc

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of DeSienaSent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 9:57 AM Subject: Pharma Gifts to MDs

States want info about drugmakers' gifts to doctorsBy Appleby, USA TODAYFrom mugs and pens to expense-paid trips, thepharmaceutical industry's largess to doctors andhospitals has come under increasing scrutiny in recentyears. Now, a number of states want an even closerlook.At least nine states are considering bills that wouldrequire drugmakers to publicly report how much theyand their sales representatives give to doctors,hospitals and pharmacists each year. A few proposalsgo further: A bill under debate in Massachusetts wouldban all gifts to medical professionals from the drugindustry."If a doctor needs a Caribbean vacation or a mug or apen, he or she is probably not very successful andneeds to be in another business," says state Sen. MarkMontigny, D-Mass., who sponsored the bill. Under the microscope States considering bills that would restrict orrequire reporting of gifts include: California HawaiiIllinoisMassachusettsMississippiNew HampshireNew YorkOhioPennsylvania Sources: Dendrite International, National Conferenceon State LegislaturesGrowing interest in regulating marketing activitiescomes four years after the industry updated itsvoluntary code restricting lavish gifts and settingother marketing guidelines. The federal Office ofInspector General issued official "guidance" to theindustry on marketing practices in April 2003.In May 2004, Pfizer paid $430 million in civil andcriminal fines to settle charges that a company it hadbought in 2000 unfairly marketed the drug Neurontin,including flying doctors to lavish resorts and payingsome to "ghostwrite" articles touting the drug.Still, some state lawmakers say the industry'svoluntary code and the federal guidance aren't enough.They want to know how much is being given and by whom."The No. 1 thing that keeps government and corporateofficials honest is transparency," Montigny says."There ought to be, online, a report that everyone cansee that says doc so-and-so has taken more than most."A push for transparency State Sen. Maziarz, R-N.Y., sponsored a bill torequire such reporting after working in an officecomplex that also housed several doctors. "They would show me their gifts: watches, leatherjackets, golfing trips," he says. "Someone is payingfor that."Four states — Vermont, Minnesota, West Virginia andMaine — and the District of Columbia have lawsrequiring gift reporting by drugmakers. California requires that drugmakers declare they arecompliant with federal and industry gift guidelines."Within a year or two, we may have 20 or 25 stateswith these restrictions," says Ron Buzzeo, chiefregulatory officer at Dendrite International, whichadvises the pharmaceutical industry and has developeda way firms can track state regulations andrequirements.Most of the state proposals are aimed at reporting thegifts, with some requiring disclosure of anythingworth $25 or more. A few also want information on thedrug firm's advertising budgets.The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers ofAmerica, the industry's trade and lobbying group, sayssuch laws are not needed."All of this is very heavily regulated by the FDA(Food and Drug Administration), which controls whatcompanies can say to physicians about their drugs,"says Marjorie , senior assistant general counselfor the group. "We don't think there's a particularneed for states to get involved." and others say the industry has sharplycurtailed the lavish gifts and free trips thatprompted media attention a few years ago. Sales reps,they say, provide an important educational functionfor doctors. Gifts, such as free lunches, help thereps get time with the doctors and their staffs.Concerns among doctors But those small gifts have raised concern among somephysicians. An article in the January issue of theJournal of the American Medical Association proposedmore stringent regulation of drug industry gifts,including a ban or strict limits on even small gifts."Social science research demonstrates that the impulseto reciprocate for even small gifts is a powerfulinfluence on people's behavior," says the piece,written by Troyen Brennan of Brigham and Women'sHospital in Boston, along with 10 co-authors.Many of the proposals being considered this year aremodeled after a 2002 law in Vermont. The law requiresdrugmakers to report to the state's attorney generalall gifts of $25 or more given to doctors, hospitalsor pharmacists. Aggregate numbers are published butnot the names of individual recipients."People see (drug) ads on TV, they read them innewspapers, so they understand that is going on," says Brill, assistant attorney general in Vermont."What they don't see happening is the much larger partof marketing that occurs with respect to physicians."Dr. DeSiena, D.C.Washington Street Chiropractic Center, L.L.C.771 Washington StreetEugene, OR 97401(541) 686-BACK (2225)__________________________________________________