Issues
May 2008
AfPA's Position Statement on Massachusetts Gift Ban Legislation
The Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA), is cautioning Massachusetts physicians about the negative implications to patient access that likely would result form adoption of so called “gift ban” legislation pending in that state’s legislature. The provisions of Senate Bill 2660, Section 26 undermine critical collaboration between physicians and the medical industry in the development of innovative therapies, and if adopted will potentially result in additional barriers to patient access to promising new and emerging therapies.
A significant proportion of medical research is conducted by physicians, many practicing in academic settings. Section 26 could have a negative impact on certain research grants relied upon by these investigators to expand our collective medical knowledge and develop new therapies. To the degree that Section 26 chills the relationship between sponsored research, clinical trials, and therapy development, it will ultimately be patients who suffer when denied access to the miracles of modern medicine.
A patient's access to a new therapy is also directly related to his or her physician’s knowledge of that therapy. If Section 26 were adopted it could have a chilling effect on continuing medical education (CME) programs, an important peer-to-peer education process, whereby physicians learn of the potential benefits and risks associated with new therapies. These educational programs are widely recognized as vital to eliminating the knowledge gap and the proliferation of quality care. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) all are in agreement that financial support for CME from industry sponsors is ethical and desirable.
AfPA strongly contends that physicians should maintain the highest ethical standards and abide by the oath they take to act in their patients’ interests. But this duty can best be met by collaborating with industry in a professional manner to serves to maximize patient access to promising new and emerging therapies.