Medical Technology associations commit to advance ethical behaviour globally
Leaders from medical technology associations across the globe have today committed to further advance ethical behaviour globally by signing the “Global Compliance Statement on Interactions Between Medical Technology Companies and Healthcare Professionals (HCPs).”
First signed in 2010 by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the largest American medical technology association; Eucomed, the European medical technology industry association; and, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (EDMA), in an effort to advance their longstanding work to promote ethical collaborations among companies and HCPs globally, it now includes six additional industry associations. The signing of this agreement took place during a ceremony held at the 2011 International Medical Device Industry Compliance Conference in London.
The nine associations’ leaders who have signed the Global Compliance Statement on Interactions Between Medical Technology Companies and Healthcare Professionals represent the following organisations:
AdvaMed, Eucomed, EDMA, COCIR (European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry), IMEDA (International Medical Devices Manufacturers Association), MEDEC (Canadian medical technology industry association), MTAA (Medical Technology Association of Australia), Medical Technology Association of New Zealand and SAMED (South African Medical Device Industry Association).
While each association has its own individual industry Code of Ethics and Business Practices in place, the principles on which those codes are based are identical and the organisations have committed to work together to promote these standards in an environment where healthcare and medical technology innovation increasingly extends beyond national and cultural borders.
“For medical technology companies, interacting with healthcare professionals is critical to on-going device innovation and patient safety. As a global industry, we must ensure that these interactions are conducted in an ethical and professional manner anywhere in the world. We are very pleased to see that this vision is shared by other associations across the globe and that six of them have now joined AdvaMed, Eucomed and EDMA in a common approach to promote compliance globally,” said Stephen J. Ubl, President and CEO of AdvaMed.
John Wilkinson, Eucomed Chief Executive, added, “Having today nine medical technology industry associations committed to advance ethical behaviour globally is an important milestone in our mission to provide consistent transparency and ethical standards across international borders. We hope that other associations will join us in our collective efforts to address compliance globally. This is the way forward if the medical technology industry is to keep on delivering modern, safe and effective medical technology and care to patients across the globe.”
Under this agreement, the nine associations commit to working together to:
- Promote ethical interactions among companies and HCPs by encouraging companies to adopt compliance programs and policies consistent with the applicable industry codes;
- Provide guidance to the medical technology industry at large on ethical business conduct relating to companies’ interactions with HCPs;
- Support education and compliance of companies with all applicable laws, regulations or professional codes (including national association codes) that may impose more stringent requirements, relating to companies’ interactions with HCPs; and
- Work together to advance ethical collaborations consistent with the respective codes globally, through regular communication, joint policies (where appropriate), joint activities, and other appropriate collaborations.
Picture Credit: Eucomed
20.05.2011
