In a move to combat the pervasive influence drug companies have on doctors, Partners HealthCare System announced today plans to implement new industry interaction policies. This announcement comes on the heels of similar announcements made on Wednesday by Johns Hopkins and by Stanford University last week.
Partners doctors are no longer allowed to accepts meals or gifts of any kind from pharmaceutical and medical device companies or be paid by industry for speaking across the country. According to Partners President and CEO, “Relationships with industry are fundamentally important for translating scientific advances into patient care improvements, but they must be managed in a way that assures the actual – and perceived – integrity of our research, education, and patient care activities.” One of those perceptions includes the role of what Dr. Peter Slavin, President of Mass General Hospital, termed in this Boston Globe article as “hired guns” – or paid agents of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Partners also now even requires industry reps be invited in writing with a distinct purpose and terms of their visits outlined before being able to meet with staff, and is holding more than just the doctors to these same standards.
These and many more recommendations are the result of an internal commission led by physicians and convened to take institutional policy action on this issue (Commissions full report). The hospitals system’s goal is to have this policy take effect this October.
We like that Partners has subjected their non-physician leaders to this policy and that they have tackled the issue of samples. At last month’s Public Health Council meeting where the state’s code of conduct regulations were approved, there was quite a bit of debate as to whether or not free drug samples affect the prescribing patterns of those who get them. Partners will now work to develop a procedure where all free drug samples will be collected and distributed by a central hospital department, such as the pharmacy. This may be a model for others to adopt.
Partners is making a strong effort to ensure that their name isn’t associated with financial conflicts of interest between their doctors and industry. These new policies obviously go beyond newly established state guidelines regarding conflicts of interest between doctors and industry representatives, but they aren’t venturing into unchartered territory. Both Boston University and the University of Massachusetts hospitals adopted institutional gift bans before it became a hot topic. And other hospitals and the state go beyond Partners guidelines by requiring public disclosure.
This is certainly a step in the right direction and we hope membership in this club increases in the months ahead.
Jessica Hamilton
Pingback: Stop the Pharma Sneak Attack on “one of the smartest steps Massachusetts has taken to get health costs under control” |