Code of Conduct - Question & Answers

6. Donations - January 2005
 
Question 1:
What are the guidelines surrounding room rentals as a means of interacting with healthcare professionals?

Is it acceptable to pay a reasonable room rental fee – in a medical clinic/building- to conduct a CHE/CME?

Response:
Rx&D members have been repeatedly advised (most recently in Executive Bulletin # 18/04, dated April 29, 2004) that payments, however designated, for access to healthcare professionals are prohibited by Rx&D' s Code.

Section 6.1.3. "Companies must never provide a donation, directly or indirectly, in order to have access to a healthcare professional. "

Section 8.2.7. “Under no circumstances shall company representatives pay a fee in order to gain access to a healthcare practitioner. “

Therefore, it is not permissible to rent a room within a medical clinic/building, even if:

• The objective is to hold a CME event,
• The healthcare professional is otherwise accessible and
• The rental cost is significantly less than what it would be in a hotel or other external venue.

Rx&D member companie /representatives must use an outside/external venue (from healthcare professional's facility) to hold CME events.