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NY Governor: Let's ban pharma gifts
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Yet another state is joining the gift-ban lineup. New York's governor is pushing for legislation that would bar sales reps from offering free meals, brand-name tchotchkes, et al, to doctors. The idea being to keep reps from using such inducements to persuade docs to use specific drugs.
According to the Associated Press, Gov. David Paterson is backing the proposal with promises that it would end up improving patient care and cut Medicaid costs. "[M]ore expensive drugs will not be prescribed for the wrong reasons," he said (as quoted by the AP).
The pharma industry isn't exactly thrilled about the idea. Drugmakers are complaining that Paterson's strictures go beyond the industry's voluntary code of conduct, and that the rules could end up interfering with reps' efforts to educate doctors about the latest in medical care.
As you know, New York would hardly be the first state to adopt rules tougher than PhRMA's conduct code. Massachusetts has banned free gifts to docs, and several other states have either adopted similar rules or are in the process of considering them. And the no-gifts movement gained additional steam last April when the Institute of Medicine came out in favor of eliminating free meals, travel and more.
But will New York's almost perpetually gridlocked legislature enact Paterson-esque rules? We wouldn't want to place bets on it. Stay tuned.
- see the AP story
- get more from PharmaGossip
Related Articles:
Institute of Medicine: Time to nix pharma gifts
New Jersey AG wants pharma-marketing crackdown
Doc-gift bans take effect in New England
Pharma, academia ties difficult to unwind
Comments
By Anonymous | Posted 1:44pm | January 25, 2010
Useless gesture. It's ridiculous to think that a Doctor will write a script simply because he does so with a branded pen. By taking away these "Tchotchkes" and meals, you do nothing but drive up the cost of the practices and their individual employees.
We should look at the rep gifts as part of Pharma's way of giving back.
ENOUGH ALREADY
By Anonymous | Posted 4:01pm | January 25, 2010
Be careful, stupidity is contagious. Tchotchkes are gone already. This is idiotic; most pharma sales reps make use of providing a lunch to an office or clinic as a means of getting some face time with a prescriber. Of course, there is a possiblilty they may "influence" a doctor in the course of a conversation over the latest peer-reviewed study (how dare he!)....or is the doctor more swayed by that slice of pizza in his hand?
Anyone have a pen I can borrow?
By Manuel | Posted 8:23pm | January 25, 2010
If you do something like that then you have to do it to all types of meetings,remember there is no free lunch.
By Anonymous | Posted 10:55am | January 26, 2010
I find it funny that the politicians can take cash from people and groups yet say that it doesn't influence anything. However, a pen or sandwich is going to have a direct impact on how well a doctor who is not measured nor compensated on what they write is going to behave.
By Anonymous | Posted 12:43am | March 12, 2010
speaking of accepting gift, are free season yankee tickets an acceptable gift? Oh that just must be ok for Patterson to accept bc he's not a doctor, just the governor of new york. as usual ban are put on industry accept politics
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