Are Medtech Ethics Codes Up to Snuff?

The rapid evolution of medtech has left many aspects of the industry scrambling to keep up, including its business ethics. The scramble is evident worldwide and in the United States. At the recent Global MedTech Compliance Conference in Paris, 26 international and regional medtech associations that make up the Global Medical Technology Alliance announced they had adopted “globally harmonized ethical business principles across their respective member associations.” The principles cover: Consulting arrangements; Company support for third-party educational programs; Company-organized training and educational events; Sales and promotional meetings; Educational and promotional items; Entertainment; Charitable donations; Demonstration and evaluation products; Ensuring effective implementation; and Third-party sales and marketing intermediaries. Alliance member AdvaMed had a hand in developing guidance for ethical third-party intermediary relationships in the Asia-Pacific region and the phase-out of companies in China directly sponsoring healthcare professionals’ attendance at third-party educational events. Other medtech associations that phased out direct sponsorship this year include MEDEC (Canada), MedTech Europe, the Asia-Pacific Medical Technology Association, the Middle East & North Africa Medical Technology Association, and the Mexican Association of Innovative Medical Devices and ABIMED (Brazil). “Such efforts facilitate fair competition and open markets, and ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news