The Safe Rx Act, a new legislation passed by the District of Columbia Council, is meant to require pharmaceutical sales representatives in Washington DC to be licensed. In addition to regulating sales reps, the bill creates a program to educate physicians on the latest developments in pharmaceutical research and prohibits members of the District’s Medical Advisory Committees from receiving gifts from pharmaceutical companies.
According to Susan Dorfman there are concerns “that medical science liaisons (MSLs) might some day be required to comply with the new law. ‘I wonder what will happen to medical liaisons under this law as they are allowed to respond to an off-label request from a physician or thought leader,’ she says. ‘The official legislation doesn’t label the professional as a pharma sales rep, but rather as a detailer. Could that imply that a detail is a scientific dialogue between an MSL and a thought leader or a physician?’”
Companies will need to know their physicians much better than they currently do. In the article, Susan Dorfman further discusses how pharmaceutical companies will need to know more than just and address and phone number for each physician since, “‘it’s not just the sales rep who will need the data; information will need to be shared across the organization. For example, with any legislation that bans any type of gift or remuneration to physicians, the company will need to know what committees and boards physicians are serving on. Companies need to develop physician profiles and identify who engages with physicians across the entire organization. This type of record keeping is costly and complicated, and it is difficult to keep the information updated.’”
The article also gives highlights of the Safe Rx Act and features contributors from PHRMA, NCSL and the Council of the District of Columbia.
The “Licensed to Sell” article is available online at: http://www.pharmavoice.com/
