In the Interest of Patients

How often are physicians "influenced" by their financial relationships with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or medical device companies? Are they "prescribing under the influence?" Or, do they have enough common sense to be objective and practice evidence-based medicine even if they have financial relationships with industry?

The AAMC has released a report titled, "In the Interest of Patients: Recommendations for Physician Financial Relationships and Clinical Decision Making."

This new report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) urges U.S. teaching hospitals to establish policies that manage financial relationships between physicians and industry so they do not influence patient care. "In the Interest of Patients: Recommendations for Physician Financial Relationships and Clinical Decision Making" provides guidance on how academic medical centers can identify, evaluate, and disclose conflicts of interest in clinical care.

You can access the report here: http://www.aamc.org/clinicalcoi

The AAMC also published a report in 2008 titled, “Industry Funding of Medical Education: Report of an AAMC Task Force.”  Meanwhile, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act will certainly lead to a greater level of transparency regarding the financial relationships between physicians and industry. Will it be enough?

CMSS Code for Interactions with Industry

The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) represents 32 medical professional societies. This roughly translates to a membership of over 650,000 U.S. physicians.

Last month, the CMSS released the CMSS Code of Interaction with Industry. This voluntary code calls for independent and transparent interactions between medical specialty organizations and industry.

Here's a snippet from the April 21 press release:

“CMSS is committed to encouraging and supporting a culture of integrity, voluntary self-regulation and transparency,” said Dr. James Scully, CMSS President and CEO of the American Psychiatric Association.  “This code provides a clear benchmark for maintaining integrity and independence.”

Click here (PDF) to view the CMSS Code of Interaction with Industry.

Docs To Disclose Monies From Pharma

We knew this was coming. Two years ago, Senators Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Herb Kohl, D-Wis introduced the bill. To some physicians, this may seem like sunlight shining into a dark alley. For others, it may feel like the sun is melting everything away.

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires companies to begin recording any physician payments that are worth more than $10 in 2012 and to report them on March 31, 2013. That includes stock options, research grants, knickknacks, consulting fees and travel to medical conferences at chi-chi hotels. The details will be posted in a searchable database starting Sept. 30, 2013.

To learn, read the full story here on NPR.

Industry support for CME

Earlier this year, the American Medical Association’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) proposed that industry support for CME should be eliminated.

However, in a meeting earlier this month, the CEJA council member John McMahon, MD, said that the council made clear in its progress update at the Interim Meeting that it does not support eliminating commercial support. Read the whole story here:

http://meetingsnet.com/medicalmeetings/news/ceja_commercial_support_1108/

Advances in Capsule Endoscopy

Swallow a pill and let it take pictures of your gut. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, the PillCam has been a leader in this medical device industry. However, it's not the only company making endoscopic capsules. RF System has the Sayaka and Olympus has the EndoCapsule. I think it would be so much fun to engineer these tiny devices that can take pictures inside your body. The next generation of these tiny probes may even take biopsies!

Going Back to School

I seem to be meeting more clinicians who are going back to school to learn about business. The problem is that medical school really doesn't prepare you for the 'real world' often encountered in the healthcare industry. Furthermore, many clinicians who are interested in pursuing non-clinical careers are looking into part-time and online business school opportunities.

I love being a student. I'm a lifelong learner and I like to read and learn about new things. Maybe I'll enroll for some classes this fall if I can justify spending all that money for the coursework. Wouldn't it be great if you could take classes for FREE? Well, in some ways you can. There are many lectures that get posted online. Look on YouTube or do a Google search and you may find something very interesting.

For example, MIT offers FREE courses here:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

Med schools asked to shun drug firm freebies

The Assn. of American Medical Colleges also wants schools to ban or limit drug industry programs such as speakers' bureaus. Free lunches, pens or trips to resorts from drug companies should not be accepted. A report by the Assn. of American Medical Colleges calls for these and other restrictions to limit drug and medical device companies' interactions at the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals. The report's recommendations seek to free the educational environment of industry marketing activities, put buffers in place when industry funding is accepted, and distance physicians and trainees from sales representatives' influence, medical leaders said.AAMC Chief Scientific Officer David Korn, MD, said the recommendations were prompted by concerns that industry funding is increasingly eroding the objectivity and integrity of medical education...

So what do you think?

Discuss on Sermo