Skokie-based G.D. Searle & Co. has dropped most of the freebies from a series of arthritis seminars for Twin Cities doctors after several St. Paul physicians complained that the promotion was unethical.
Searle intended to supply physicians and their families with free lodging, gourmet meals, ski-lift tickets, tickets to a concert and dinner theater and rides and other activities at the Mall of America.
“The American Medical Association and the Minnesota Medical Association both condemn this type of promotion,” said Mark Vukelich, a spokesman for the Minnesota group.
Pam Rasmussen, a spokeswoman for Searle, is blaming an overzealous sales representative for most of the gifts and said they have been stripped from the seminars. But the company still intends to supply free hotel rooms and meals to doctors.
The promotion, which begins March 13 and continues for three weekends, is designed to encourage physicians to attend a free arthritis seminar and to learn about the company’s newest product, Daypro, a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug used to treat arthritis.
It’s the second time since 1989 that Searle has been forced to change a promotion in the Twin Cities involving gifts to physicians. In 1989 the company dropped an offer of a free dinner or Timberwolves tickets to Twin Cities doctors who would prescribe a certain high blood-pressure medication. The firm also blamed that promotion on an overzealous salesman.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rules governing drug promotions, but a spokesman in Washington said the agency could not comment until after it examined the offer.
The promotion fails the ethical guidelines adopted by the American Medical Association, said Dr. Robert Moravec, chairman of the Minnesota Medical Association’s committee for accreditation of continuing medical education.
Searle is a member of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, which adopted the AMA’s guidelines in 1992.
According to the guidelines, “Any gifts accepted by physicians individually should primarily entail a benefit to patients and should not be of substantial value.” Physicians can accept pens and notepads for instance, but cannot accept gifts if they are given in connection with the physician’s prescribing practice.
The AMA adopted its guidelines on Dec. 3, 1990, after it became clear that many drug companies were giving free gifts to physicians who agreed to prescribe certain drugs.
Rasmussen, the Searle spokeswoman, said the firm didn’t know about the unethical promotion until a reporter called to ask about it. “One sales representative was pursuing this type of activity, but we put a stop to it,” she said.
Physicians still are entitled to one night’s free lodging and reimbursement for travel and reasonable meal expenses because they will be considered consultants, Rasmussen said. Spouses also are allowed to attend, she said.
The consulting work will consist of completing a questionnaire about how they examine and communicate with arthritis patients, she said.
