AdvaMed Code of Ethics
May 2004
AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, released a revised industry "Code of Ethics for Interactions with Health Care Professionals," which went into effect on January 1, 2004. AdvaMed represents nearly 90 percent of the U.S. medical device and diagnostics industry.
The code will change the way sales and marketing professionals interact with physicians, according to AdvaMed. The Association and its members adopted this new code of ethics in response to the rapidly changing healthcare fraud enforcement environment. America's medical technology companies are concerned about this situation because it presents risks to the industry itself, and to physicians and other healthcare industry professionals, who are so critical to the delivery of life-saving and life-enhancing therapies.
Restrictions on entertainment, meals, meeting locations, donations and gifts are included, but collaborations between industry and physicians, such as consulting and research, are still allowed.
For more information, or to view the entire code, go to http://www.advamed.org/publicdocs/coe.html