New Massachusetts Law Says Devicemakers Must Disclose Gifts to Physicians
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, AUGUST 20, 2008
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick signed into law new regulations surrounding devicemakers' gifts to physicians. Per the new law, manufacturers must disclose in an annual report any gifts given in Massachusetts that are worth more than $50.
According to FDA News, the report will include the value, nature, purpose and recipient of a gift. This information will be publicly available on a website.
Given the relatively low monetary threshold and the broad definition of gift ("any fee, payment, subsidy or other economic benefit with a value of at least $50"), the new Massachusetts law goes much further than the consultant payment disclosures introduced with the Big 5's DOJ settlement. Because of this, AdvaMed President Stephen Ubl has criticized the legislation, saying it "would impede important interactions with providers and could drive . . . critical research and development out of state."
