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Vermont Legislature Passes Law Regulating All Drug/Device Company Marketing, Requiring Disclosure Of Gifts To Doctors
The Vermont Legislature has passed legislation (S 48) that bans nearly all gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to health care providers, administrators and facilities in the state, the New York Times reports. The legislation specifically would prohibit drug and device makers from giving providers no-cost meals. Vermont"s legislation would go further than similar laws in other states like Massachusetts and Minnesota by requiring drug and medical device manufacturers who give gifts to health providers to publicly disclose recipients" names and dollar amounts of payments and gifts. The measure would not require manufacturers to disclose payments for clinical research of products undergoing FDA review, the Times reports. The legislation also would eliminate a loophole that allows manufacturers to conceal certain expenses by claiming them as trade secrets. In a recent report, the Vermont Office of the Attorney General said that medical product makers spent about $2.9 million on promotional efforts to the state"s health care providers in fiscal year 2008 and that nearly half of the state"s 4,573 licensed providers had received some type of incentive from drugmakers in the same year. The report, which was developed prior to passage of the new legislation, offers only aggregate data, as 83% of the manufacturer-declared payments were deemed to be trade secrets, the Times reports.Gov. Jim Douglas (R) is expected to sign the law, which would take effect July 1. Several state medical groups -- including the Vermont Association for Mental Health and the Vermont Medical Society -- have indicated support for the legislation.Marjorie Powell, a senior lawyer for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the requirements under the new law appear redundant with new voluntary guidelines the group has issued on physician gifting practices. She said, "We think this is unnecessary, and it is not going to improve patient care," adding, "It makes it onerous not only for the company but also for the physician in Vermont, because this is going to be on a Web site" (Singer, New York Times, 5/20).
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Prestigious Industry Credential Awarded To Danish And American Pharma Colleagues
Peter Werner Christensen, CPIP, Senior Quality Professional with NNE Pharmaplan, and Sam DeMarco, CPIP, President of Compliance Team, Inc., have met the global competency standard and have been conferred the Certified Pharmaceutical Industry Professional (CPIPTM) credential by the ISPE Professional Certification Commission (ISPE-PCCTM).
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'Past Time' To Denounce Tiller Murder, Violence Perpetrated By Some Antiabortion Advocates, Opinion Piece Says
In the wake of the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, columnist Ellen Goodman writes in the Boston Globe that she "can"t help wondering whether rhetoric can justify a crime in the mind of a fanatic." She continues, "Can"t words provide the sort of perverse moral platform that jihadists stand on and the alternate universe in which a "lone nut" can find a home?" Goodman writes that she does not blame Tiller"s death on "everyone who checks a pro-life box on the pollster"s chart," but it is "well past time for the antiabortion movement to denounce those who are in the profession of inflaming passions."Tiller "was a doctor of last resort for many women, especially those women for whom the sonogram did not bring joy but tragic tidings," Goodman writes, adding, "He refused to be cowed. At the very least, he should be buried with truth." In his recent commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, President Obama asked, "As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate? How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?" Goodman writes, "One way is for those who truly "denounce the murder" to take on the chorus, the back-up singers, who still provide the doo-wop for the next deranged soloist." She concludes, "You see, this suspect was not such a lone gunman. And no, I am afraid, this was not an isolated incident" (Goodman, Boston Globe, 6/5).
Health Insurance

CSC Cited As A Leading Technology Provider In Celent Insurance Software Study

CSC (NYSE: CSC) today announced that it has been named a leading technology provider in multiple categories of Celent"s 2009 Insurance Software Deal Trends study, published in two editions. Celent, a financial services technology research and advisory firm, reported in the Life/Health Edition that CSC is the leader in Life, Health and Annuity Core Processing with 56 percent of the deals in 2007 and 2008, as well as a leader in Life, Health and Annuity Infrastructure and Accounting. In addition, Celent identified CSC in the Property/Casualty Edition as a leader in Property and Casualty (P&C) Core Processing and P&C Distribution. Celent"s 2009 Insurance Software Deal Trends study ranks technology companies based on number of contracts signed in 2007 and 2008 and collected data on 1,315 deals with carriers. In the same reports, CSC was named a "Traction Index" leader, placing in the top 10. The Traction Index is a composite measure that considers the type and size of deals, and the size of a vendor"s clients. "We would like to extend our congratulations to CSC for its leadership in multiple categories," said Craig Weber, senior vice president of the Celent insurance practice. "We believe that carriers value partners who know the insurance vertical well, and who demonstrate their commitment to it. It"s not surprising that CSC is a leader in these categories, as its product breadth, technology innovation and long history in the vertical are attractive to new and returning clients." "Celent"s continued recognition of CSC"s leadership in the insurance industry is a great honor and a testament to our long-standing commitment to helping our clients achieve success," said Jim Cook, president of CSC"s Business Solutions and Services Sector. "For more than 30 years, CSC"s mission-critical software, comprehensive back-office services and global IT infrastructure have helped insurers reduce costs and improve productivity." The Deal Trends reports provide readers with a snapshot of leading software vendors. They were written as independent reports for Celent"s insurance research subscribers and were not sponsored or directed by CSC or any other company. About CSC CSC is a global leader in providing technology-enabled solutions and services through three primary lines of business. These include Business Solutions and Services, the Managed Services Sector and the North American Public Sector. CSC"s advanced capabilities include systems design and integration, information technology and business process outsourcing, applications software development, Web and application hosting, mission support and management consulting. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., CSC has approximately 92,000 employees and reported revenue of $16.74 billion for the 12 months ended April 3, 2009. CSC


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