Doctor gifts: Much ado over very little in Mass.

State licences for salesmen??

The state Senate unanimously approved a first-in-the-nation law banning all gifts to doctors from pharmaceutical companies, but lawmakers removed a controversial provision that would have criminalized the practice. The gift ban was approved as part of a sweeping package of reforms seeking to control skyrocketing health-care costs. Other provisions of the bill would force the adoption of computerized medical records and require health insurers to publicly document annual cost increases.

But the gift ban drew the most attention as health industry lobbyists battled to alter the legislation, arguing that it would go too far by restricting distribution of educational materials and would potentially hurt patient care. The bill still needs approval from the House of Representatives and Gov. Deval Patrick. State Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), the principal author of the gift ban provision, said he agreed to compromise by removing language that would have made gift-giving a criminal offense. But he insisted the bill has retained its essential elements. “This will prevent the illicit marketing that is compromising the doctor-patient relationship,” Montigny said. “Billions is being spent on schmoozing and sending doctors on junkets, and it shouldn’t be happening.”

The new law goes further than similar measures on the books in other states. Vermont and Minnesota have instituted restrictions on gifts of certain monetary values, but the Massachusetts law is the first to ban all gifts, no matter how much they are worth. The law also forces pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to obtain state licenses for sales agents; any agent caught violating the gift ban could be fined up to $5,000 for each offense.

The measure passed the Senate 36-0 on Thursday despite sharp criticism from medical and pharmaceutical companies. “Strictly interpreted, the ‘anything of value ban’ could bring clinical trials to a halt in Massachusetts, severely cut into necessary and mandated continuing educational studies undertaken by physicians, and mean that fewer new medicines are readily available to patients,” the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council wrote in a letter to lawmakers.

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