Massachusetts Code of Conduct: The Endocrine Society Calls for Repeal
In response to the recent proposal in the Massachusetts House to repeal a controversial gift ban from 2008, which prohibited gifts and meals for health care professionals from drug firms, the Endocrine Society issued a statement regarding the importance of interactions with industry.
Specifically, the Endocrine Society noted how it has used the Boston Convention Center in the past (2006) and has current plans to be there in 2011 and 2016 for annual meetings. Their past meeting in 2006, according to Endocrine Society Executive Director and CEO Scott Hunt was “very successful because the society was able to capitalize on the large number of physicians in greater Boston, and had a strong attendance and exhibit.”
Consequently, the society booked the Boston Convention Center for 2011 and 2016 before “the new, more restrictive Massachusetts law regarding gifts and incentives to physicians went into effect.” As a result, Hunt noted that “if that law had been in effect it is unlikely they would have re-booked for either year.”
In particular, the Endocrine Society asserted that the current Massachusetts gift ban law, “with its interpretations and related perceptions, has a negative effect on industry interactions with healthcare providers and on the value of medical meetings in Massachusetts—especially the exhibit portion of large medical meetings.” One negative consequence from the gift ban is a loss of revenue from industry that most medical associations, such as the Endocrine Society, rely on from their exhibits to offset the large costs of putting on a major medical meeting.
When these “exhibiting companies don’t attend because of the new law it hurts the Endocrine Society and others financially, and it hurts their attendees financially due to larger registration fees.
An even worse consequence from the gift ban is that when companies don’t attend or withdraw their funding, it hurts science, medicine and health care provider training because “there are fewer new therapies and technologies on display.” Accordingly, when legislation creates this kind of harm to patients and physicians, it creates “an unacceptable arrangement in the long term,” according to Hunt.
The Endocrine Society noted that, “it simply puts Boston at a significant competitive disadvantage versus other sites that the Endocrine Society uses such as San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago and Washington, DC.
Ultimately, Endocrine Society noted that although “the timing of medical meetings, like theirs, is such that the effect of the current law will not be felt for two or three more years, it is the future of that business that is being lost right now and the result will be fewer bookings for Boston and its Convention Center.” Hunt added that such a loss is “unfortunate, since the potential of a new center is significant and the people of Massachusetts are the losers.”
Due to harsh cut backs on local business profits and recent data now showing extensive losses to biotechs and device companies and discussed recently at the Society for Vascular Surgery Meeting recently held in Boston, Hunt made it clear that legislators in Massachusetts must be fully aware of these facts as they debate the repeal of this law.