• Industry gifts must meet ethical standards.Present isolated image by jodi mcgee from Fotolia.com
  
  All interactions between pharmaceutical industry representatives and physicians are regulated my numerous organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), as well as many state legislatures. The goal of this regulation is to ensure that the pharmaceutical industry does not engage in any activities that could be perceived as trying to unduly influence a physicians' objectivity or prescribing habits.
  
  

AMA Ethical Guidelines

• The American Medical Association (AMA) first issued ethical guidelines to address pharmaceutical marketing and industry gifts in 1991 and has since published several addenda. In summary, gifts valued at under $100 that primarily benefit patients or a physician's medical practice are allowed. Pharmaceutical companies may also sponsor scientific or educational activities as long as the primary goal of that activity is to disclose information on a relevant topic. The pharmaceutical industry may also provide funding to a conference sponsor to underwrite costs of physicians' attendance at medical education programs, as long as the programs contribute to the improvement of patient care.
  
  

PhRMA Voluntary Guidelines

• The latest voluntary guidelines issued by PhRMA were published in January 2009. The Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals offers very detailed information on permitted activities/interactions. For instance, PhRMA does not consider pens, mugs or golf balls to be educational gifts, nor does it allow speaker training programs to be held at resort locations.
  
  

Government Intervention

• Several state legislatures proposed and adopted statues to regulate the influence of gifts. These statues run the gamut from requiring disclosure of gifts to outright banning of industry gifts to physicians. For instance, Minnesota prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from giving gifts that exceed a retail value of $50 a year, while allowing some exemptions for pharmaceutical sales representatives to provide drug samples or for pharmaceutical companies to pay honoraria to course faculty.
  
  

Compliance

• Any company that interacts with healthcare professionals about pharmaceutical products should become familiar with the existing guidelines and should, according to PhRMA, adopt procedures to ensure compliance with these guidelines.