Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Brother of David Blumenthal and both
potential Clinton/Obama appointees, delivered strong rhetoric for a prohibition against drug company gifts and other benefits provided to doctors under the grounds that gifts may improperly influence health care decisions.
Blumenthal testified April 21 before the Connecticut State Public Health Committee "Marketing of Prescription Drugs" Informational Forum, (Legislative staff made it clear this was simply an information forum not a hearing) that The pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and physicians groups have adopted "codes of ethics" to prevent conflicts of interest – but Blumenthal said these codes are virtually unenforceable and meaningless, and must be made law.
"We must stop improper impacts and influence of money on health care providers from the pharmaceutical drug companies," Blumenthal said. "Shocking recent disclosures about Merck’s widespread ghost-writer reports – with payments to prestigious health care providers – vividly demonstrate the audacity of pharmaceutical drug company monetary influence.
He proposed the following recommendations be turned into Connecticut State Law:
- Prohibit any gifts, scholarships or other items in exchange for prescribing products, a commitment to continue prescribing products or to otherwise interfere with the independence of a health care provider’s prescribing practices;
- Prohibit any gifts for the personal use of a health care provider;
- Prohibit any gifts to a health care provider for business use except for items of minimal value such as post-its, note pads, etc;
- Limit gifts for patient benefit to free samples of prescription drugs and items valued under $100;
- Prohibit any gifts or payments to health care providers for attending conferences but allow financial sponsorship of such conferences if the benefit of the sponsorship is distributed evenly among all attendees through reduced conference fees;
- Regulate payments to health care providers to serve as consultants, requiring written contracts, documentation of the criteria and the selection process for such consultants, articulation of the legitimate need for such consultant services; and
- Require all recipients of scholarships and other financial educational assistance to be selected by the participating academic or training institution and not the pharmaceutical company.