According to the Boston Globe, my home state of Massachusetts may become the first in the nation to require pharmaceutical sales reps to be licensed and have some CE of their own. They would be required to get education about the rules of conduct—and would be banned from “providing entertainment, gifts, payments, or travel to doctors, healthcare facilities, or public officials.” PhRMA thinks it would “impose an additional burden on the sharing of new information with physicians.” On the other side:

But Dr. Joseph Gerstein , a whistle-blower in the federal government’s case against TAP Pharmaceutical Products for improper marketing practices, said the sales representatives are not engaged in educational efforts.



“If pharmaceutical companies were really interested in education, as opposed to sales, then pharmaceutical salespeople would be rewarded according to how accurately and effectively they conveyed the crucial information about indications, side effects, and toxicity to physicians,” Gerstein said. “They are not. They are rewarded on how much they increase sales. That says it all.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

That’s the question that has people up in arms in Charleston, W. Va., according to an article in the Charleston Gazette. According to the article:

At issue is whether the Legislature intended to require reporting of all marketing expenses by drug companies — or just direct-to-consumer advertising costs — when it passed the Pharmaceutical Availability and Affordability Act of 2004.



Last week, the pharmaceutical council voted 5-4 to remove all spending disclosure requirements for drug company sales representatives, heeding the advice of pharmaceutical industry attorneys who said the council‘s authority is essentially limited to consumer advertising.

It goes on to say: ““It‘s clear to me … that far more is spent on what is called, quote, physician education than there is on direct-to-consumer advertising,’ he said, adding, “I don‘t think the public is aware of that level of influence.’”

I’ll be doing a roundup of what’s going on in various states related to pharma and CME for the next issue of Medical Meetings, so if you know of anything, please drop me a line or leave a comment below. Thanks to Deb for this one!