Medical device industry under scrutiny

ONGOING scrutiny of the relationship between doctors and the pharma industry has widened to medical device makers.

The scrutiny follows media reports of lavish inducements to surgeons and health executives, including overseas trips and helicopter rides.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mark Butler demanded the device industry create a “level playing field”, with the Rudd Government pledging to stamp out companies wining and dining doctors.

The TGA was due to meet with industry and consumer groups this week to discuss their codes of conduct. Some industry bodies, such as Medicines Australia, have strict rules on gifts and inducements while others, including the generic medicines industry, do not.

Consumers Health Forum executive director Carol Bennett said her organisation would be pushing hard for a single code of conduct for all.

“We want a single code which meets the most rigorous standards, rather than the lowest common denominator.”

Also read: New rules of engagement