Massachusetts Governor Signs Bill Intended to Control Gifts to Providers

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a bill (S. 2863) into law which includes a section requiring pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to report any payment or gift of more than $50 made to a healthcare professional.

The report would be made to the state’s department of public health, and the gifts would be publicly posted on the state's Web site.

“This measure will set a marketing code of conduct to help ensure healthcare providers make choices about prescription drugs and medical devices for their patients based on therapeutic benefits and cost-effectiveness,” said Gov. Patrick in a written statement.  “I am confident the department of public health, pursuant to its regulatory authority, will safeguard the confidentiality of companies’ trade secrets and proprietary information and protect against roadblocks to medical research or the education of healthcare providers.”

The bill — An Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and Efficiency in the Delivery of Quality Health Care — includes several other cost-containing initiatives such as:

• The development of quality improvement and cost containment goals and performance benchmarks
• The promotion of electronic health records systems
• The implementation of measures to increase the availability and accessibility of primary care and to improve the quality of chronic care
• The dissemination of healthcare quality and cost data to consumers, providers and insurers

 

Read more about the new Massachusetts law.