The UVA Health System has announced a change in vendor policy that effectively bans all gifts, meals and promotional items that are given to UVA employees by those companies that work closely with University staff. Principally, that means pharmaceutical reps.
The ban, which went into effect on October 1, prohibits hospital and School of Medicine employees, students and interns from accepting free promotional items such as pens, mugs, pads, coffee, bagels, candies, sandwiches, and drug samples not intended for patient use.
The ban is meant to be unambiguous and eliminate any slippery slope.
David Foreman, public relations coordinator for the School of Medicine, says that both institutions have been working on the policy changes for the past couple of years. “There is nothing magical about October 1,” he says. “It’s just the culmination of the efforts.”
|
Pharmacy reps are going to have to find new ways of wooing doctors at the UVA Health System. |
The ban addresses the widespread belief that drug companies have an impact on doctors’ treatment decisions. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Executive Council recently approved a report that called on academic medical centers to prohibit or restrict staff from accepting travel funds, free food and other gifts from drug and medical device companies. The ultimate objective of the report and of UVA is to eliminate the conflict of interest that could impair a doctor’s judgement.
UVA’s policy reflects a national trend with academic medical centers. Stanford University has “a pretty straightforward and comprehensive ban,” says Foreman, and the University of Pittsburgh has not allowed drug-rep lunches since February.
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.
