TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
today that she has convened a task force
to explore the issue of pharmaceutical companies
and medical device makers giving gifts and
other compensation to physicians, and to
determine what impact, if any, such practices
have on patient care in New Jersey.
Known as the Attorney General’s Advisory
Task Force on Physician Compensation, the
panel is scheduled to meet for the first
time on Wednesday. The task force includes
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior
Services Commissioner Fred Jacobs, members
of the State Board of Medical Examiners,
practicing physicians, industry representatives
and consumer advocates.
According to Milgram, the task force will
study the impact of gift-giving and compensation
practices on the physician-patient relationship
and the extent to which such arrangements
legitimately advance the medical profession’s
knowledge of new therapies and devices.
The task force will also examine potential
steps to prevent and identify abuses in
the area of physician gifts and “incentives”
including public disclosure of data, direct
physician disclosure to patients, and/or
a limitation on payments accepted by these
professionals.
“As
regulators of health care professionals
in New Jersey, we want to ensure that patient
care is guided by the unbiased exercise
of the physician’s best judgment,”
Attorney General Milgram said.
“It
is critical that patients have confidence
they are getting the best, most objective
medical advice they can get, and that they
be able to make fully-informed decisions
about their own care,” said Commissioner
Jacobs.
As part of its work, the Attorney General’s
Advisory Task Force on Physician Compensation
will examine the manner in which other states
have addressed the gift-giving issue.
To date, reporting laws related to payments
made to physicians by pharmaceutical and
medical device providers have been enacted
in four states – Vermont, Maine, Minnesota
and West Virginia – and the District
of Columbia.
In approaching its mission, the Attorney
General’s task force will have an
opportunity to review data concerning those
who have acknowledged receiving substantial
gifts and compensation.
Over the summer, for the first time, the
State Board of Medical Examiners began asking
New Jersey physicians whether they have
accepted gifts or other benefits from medical
device or pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Attorney General Milgram said input from
the task force members will be important
in developing follow-up questions for those
medical professional who have acknowledged
receiving compensation or benefits. Data
collected by the task force will also assist
the panel and the Board of Medical Examiners
in determining whether policy reforms and/or
regulations should be developed to assure
that physician judgment is being exercised
in the best interest of patients.
“The
facts gathered by the task force and the
Board of Medical Examiners will be critical
in deciding whether additional reforms are
needed to eliminate conflicts and provide
greater transparency,” said Milgram.
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