The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has proposed apolicy banning pens, drug samples and almost all other swag from pharmaceuticaland medical equipment representatives.
The draft policy would apply to faculty, staff and studentsof UPMC and the university’s Schools of the Health Sciences and other professionals andstaff.
With the policy, Pitt would join a growing list of academicmedical centers restricting drug company promotion, even small gifts like pizzaand pens. These schools include the Universityof Pennsylvania, Yale University and the University of Michigan.
Last year Stanford University took the addedstep of extending the limits of its own new pharma gift rules to informal, unaccredited educational events,as well. Pitt is planning to do the same, Frank Raczkiewicz, acting director of the UPMC News Bureau, told MM&M.
“The same rules would apply to all educational programs, whether or not CME credit is being given,” Raczkiewicz said in an e-mail.
In order to mitigate the effect of banning drug samples on uninsuredand low-income patients, UPMC officials are considering creating a database ofmanufacturer assistance programs and investigating the feasibility of a voucherprogram that would allow patients to obtain medication at no cost, according tothe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The UPMC policy could go into effect by early next year.
