Ensuring the Integrity of Our Relationships with Health Care Professionals
We adhere to high scientific and ethical standards: Pfizer's work with health care professionals is based in sound science and focused on improving patient health. We are committed to conducting our work with health care professionals to the highest of ethical standards to ensure the integrity of these relationships and their value to patients.
Our work is governed by laws, regulations and policies: Since Pfizer's work with health care professionals directly impacts the lives and health of patients, it is governed by a range of federal and state regulations, in addition to our own internal policies.
Federal and state laws
- Federal laws and regulations: are administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- State regulations are enforced by state attorneys general.
Together, these laws prohibit unethical behaviors, including inappropriately influencing health care professionals and others through bribing or "kick-backs" and marketing a medicine in a false or misleading manner.
Pfizer's commitments
- These help assure ethical relationships with your doctor.
- Pfizer expects each of our employees to share this same commitment and has established mandatory training programs and controls to help ensure all employees understand and adhere to these policies.
- We also self audit our efforts to ensure compliance with our policies.
The Pfizer Corporate Integrity Agreement:
- This codifies our commitment to increasing the transparency of our business practices, including commitments to report grants and political contributions, as well as listing clinical trials.
- Our plans to disclose payments to health care professionals were announced in February of 2009 and have been incorporated into Pfizer's recent Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General.
- In addition to Pfizer's voluntary commitments to begin reporting in March 2010, the company is required to post additional payment information in March 2011, and on a quarterly basis thereafter.
Industry regulations
The PhRMA Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals:
- This is a voluntary set of industry guidelines governing these relationships with U.S. health care professionals, which Pfizer has fully adopted.
- Under the PhRMA Code (which was last updated effective January 1, 2009), Pfizer may not give U.S. health care professionals like your doctor any non-educational gifts (like pens or notepads), provide them with out-of-office (i.e., restaurant) meals hosted by sales representatives or their immediate managers (except in connection with Expert-Led Forums), or provide them with any entertainment or recreational items, such as tickets to sporting events or vacations.
