Patient, Physician, Academic and Industry Groups Issue Consensus Principles on Physician-Industry Collaboration

Following Release of Sunshine Act Rules, Diverse Organizations Emphasize Importance of Collaboration to Medical Innovation for the Benefit of Patients

WASHINGTON — Organizations representing the full continuum of American healthcare today issued a joint statement outlining several key principles necessary to guide collaborations between the healthcare industry, physicians and researchers.  In the statement, the groups declared that such collaborations are essential to “medical innovation, meaningful health outcome improvements, and economic growth for our nation.”

The statement was issued during a Capitol Hill briefing on physician-industry collaboration and follows the recently-released federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act rules.  The briefing was hosted by the multi-sector National Dialogue for Healthcare Innovation, an initiative of the Healthcare Leadership Council.

• Speakers presentations are available here.
• Read materials from the media exposure received following the Briefing.

Among the organizations endorsing the joint principles are AdvaMed, the American Osteopathic Association, the American College of Cardiology, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Friends of Cancer Research, PhRMA, and the Society for Women’s Health Research.  A full list of organizations, associations, companies and prominent physicians endorsing the joint principles is listed below.

The statement outlines a framework to guide future physician-industry collaborations and maintain the public’s confidence and trust.  These principles include:

• An emphasis on physician and researcher autonomy.  “Healthcare professionals and scientists must be free to assess independently multiple sources of information and treat each patient in a manner consistent with the patient’s needs and best medical practice.”
• Practicing transparency in all aspects of collaboration.  “Patients and all those involved in healthcare should have reasonable access to relevant and meaningful information about how academic institutions, researchers, healthcare professionals and medical products companies engage in collaborative relationships.
• Emphasizing accountability.  “All participants across healthcare must be responsible for their actions…internal self-regulation with recurrent training and communication is essential.”
• A focus on patient benefits.  “Collaborations at any level, from the research lab to the doctor’s office, must aim to benefit patients and put patients’ interests first.”

The endorsing organizations emphasize that working agreements between industry and physicians should not be discouraged, but rather are essential “so that new advances in medicine and medical technology can continue to make the journey from concept to the practice of medicine for the benefit of patients.”
Said Mary R. Grealy, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, “Most of the lifesaving and life-changing medical innovations of the last several decades have come as a result of innovative biopharmaceutical and technology companies working with knowledgeable physicians and scientists.  We never want to discourage these collaborations from taking place because they are the catalysts for the new medical breakthroughs that protect and strengthen population health.  But we need to move forward in a principled, patient-centric way, and these principles underscore the broad commitment to doing good work the right way.”

Organizations that Developed and Endorsed the Principles

Association of American Medical Colleges

AdvaMed

American Osteopathic Association

Cleveland Clinic

Council of Medical Specialty Societies

Friends of Cancer Research

Healthcare Leadership Council

Lahey Clinic

Eli Lilly and Company

Medtronic

PhRMA

Organizations also Endorsing the Principles

Alliance for Aging Research, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American College of Cardology, American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists, American College of Clinical Research Organizations, College of Neurological Surgeons, Federation of State Medical Boards, Johnson & Johnson, Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine, Men’s Health Network, Merck, Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of Oregon, Pfizer, Stryker, Society for Women’s Health Research, South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, WomenHeart

Individual Endorsers

Dennis Ausiello, M.D. (Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital), Eugene Braunwald, M.D. (Harvard University School of Medicine and Brigham & Women’s Hospital), William N. Kelley, M.D. (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine), Ralph Snyderman, M.D. (Duke University School of Medicine), Bruce Wilkoff, M.D. (Cleveland Clinic)