Recently, the Pharmaceutical Research and Development Industry Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment officially released the RDPAC Industry Code of Conduct (Revised 2022) (the Code of Conduct).
RDPAC, short for Drug Research and Development Industry Committee of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, was established in 1999. At present, RDPAC has 45 members and is limited to foreign pharmaceutical companies.
The code of conduct mainly focuses on the behavior of drug marketing, and now extends to clinical research, continuing medical education, consulting services, from medical professionals to medical institutions, medical organizations, and patient organizations. Six versions of the code of Conduct have been published between 2002 and 2019. This is the seventh version, which will come into force on April 1, 2023.
Compared with the old version, the new version strengthens the control of pharmaceutical companies and drug distributors, including a number of provisions on the cost of the pharmaceutical industry may cause a change in the working mode of the pharmaceutical industry.
The new Code of Conduct states that expenditures for hospitality during medical interactions with health professionals should be moderate and reasonable by local standards. In general, the cost of hospitality should not exceed the usual out-of-pocket costs for participants.
And to avoid controversy, the code sets "moderate and reasonable" standards at no more than 300 yuan per person per meal. In rare special circumstances, the above dining standards should be approved by the General manager of the member company or his special authorized agent.
The change has been widely discussed among hospital practitioners. A pharmaceutical representative from an RDPAC member company told Cycyblue that some of the medical professionals at the exchange had developed a habit of "going from spending money to spending money" over the years, which made them feel undervalued. Once you get that impression, it's hard to follow up.
In fact, the Code of Conduct does not set a low standard for payment, she said, but in practice, pay attention to "process attrition" and "assessment pressure." The original budget of 300 yuan per person for the activity, until the settlement of the settlement may only be 200 yuan, 100 yuan was "lost" in the process.
As for "evaluation pressure," the representative said, once there is a clear standard of payment, it is likely to be included in the job evaluation. From the perspective of the enterprise, it is natural to want to use as little money as possible on the premise that the final results can be guaranteed. The budgets available to medical representatives will be further cut under the related assessment pressure.
In addition, the Code of Conduct specifies that gifts and promotional AIDS to healthcare professionals are prohibited, and only pens and notepads bearing the logos of member companies are provided with minimum value and minimum quantity. According to the regulations, the minimum value is no more than 100 yuan per item.
The medical representative told Cyberlan that it is almost a "rule" to give gifts to participants, especially important experts, when hosting exchange events. Even if relevant regulations are in place, companies need to adjust gradually.
An employee of a non-member RDPAC company told Cyperlan that while the Code of Conduct is technically limited to the 45 member companies, it was only a matter of time before other companies followed suit because RDPAC has such a strong influence across the industry.
It is not difficult to see that under the new environment, all pharmaceutical companies are facing a major transformation test.
In recent years, many hospitals have set up signs warning "No medical representatives allowed inside".
A number of pharmaceutical representatives complained that RDPAC should speak up for them to end such blatant "discrimination." RDPAC already does this, but in a different way.
Once upon a time, pharmaceutical representatives were hospital guests who took on the important task of drug promotion. In just a few decades, the change from "welcome propaganda" to "no entry" reflects the change in the positioning of medical representatives, that is, from "academic communication" to "product promotion".
To regain respect, pharmaceutical representatives need to return to being "drug academics" rather than mere "drug salesmen".
In June this year, nine government departments, including the National Health Commission, the National Healthcare Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance, jointly issued the Key Points for Correcting Irregularities in the Pharmaceutical Purchase and Sale and Medical Services by 2022, making it clear that they will continue to promote the treatment of medical disorder.
Medical institutions must not allow unregistered personnel to carry out academic promotion and other related activities for their own medical or pharmaceutical staff, and they must do so by the end of 2022, the document said.
With the implementation of the documentation system, the threshold for medical representation will be raised, which will provide the basis for future transformation.
The new Code of Conduct extends the scope of regulation to member companies' interactions with patient organizations and patients, strengthens control requirements in support of healthcare professionals, and adds content on interactions with patient organizations.
To sum up, future medical representatives should constantly improve their academic professional ability, have an in-depth understanding of their own products, and fully communicate and promote with doctors and patients. In the long run, the profession will regain respect.
