The policy also recommends that product-specific DTC ads should not use actors to portray health care providers who are promoting drug or device products, because this portrayal may be misleading and deceptive. If an actor is used to portray a health care provider, a disclaimer should be prominently displayed. The AMA also voted to discourage active and retired physicians from participating in advertising that endorses a particular drug or device product. If physicians do choose to participate in an ad, there should be a clear disclaimer that they are being paid for their endorsement, according to the new AMA policy.
Last year, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) issued voluntary “Guiding Principles” on DTC advertising that call on drug companies to spend time educating health care professionals before beginning a new DTC campaign. Under the PhRMA policy, the length of time that should be spent in this educational effort should vary from product to product.
“While there are subtle differences between our guiding principles and the AMA's report, both emphasize the critical need to educate physicians and other health care providers about a new medicine before it is advertised to the public,” Dr. Paul Antony, PhRMA's Chief Medical Officer, said in a statement.
In other news from the AMA House of Delegates:
▸ Scaling back on salt. In a series of actions, the AMA delegates voted to urge the FDA to revoke the “generally recognized as safe” status of salt, allowing the agency to develop limits on sodium in processed food and restaurant items.
The AMA called for at least a 50% reduction in the amount of sodium in processed foods, fast food products, and restaurant meals over the next decade. The delegates also instructed the AMA leadership to work with the FDA to improve labeling of foods and meals so consumers can better understand the amount of sodium they consume. Patients are often unaware of how much sodium is in their diet, cardiologist J. James Rohack, an AMA Board of Trustees member, said during a press conference. Patients with hypertension will often say they don't add salt to food, but they don't realize the high sodium content of processed meats, Dr. Rohack said.
▸ Obtaining organs. The delegates approved a policy that allows for public solicitation of organs from living donors as long as it adds to the overall number of available organs and does not disadvantage others who are waiting for a transplant. This type of directed donation is acceptable as long as donors do not receive payment beyond reimbursement for travel, lodging, lost wages, and medical care associated with the donation, according to the new policy.
▸ Emphasizing electronic records. Delegates voted for the AMA to support initiatives that minimize the financial burden to physician practices of adopting and maintaining electronic medical records and instructed AMA officials to get involved in efforts to define and promote standards for the interoperability of health information technology systems. But the delegates also established as AMA policy that physicians should not be required to adopt electronic medical records by either public or private payers.
▸ Meddling in medicine. AMA delegates voiced their opposition to the “interference of government in the practice of medicine” through the use of government-mandated recitations to patients. The issue was brought up in response to pending federal legislation, the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2005 (S. 51), which proposes that physicians read a mandatory script to all women who seek abortions at more than 20-week gestation.
▸ Interrogations and immigration. The delegates also touched on the role of physicians in military interrogations and in providing care for illegal immigrants.
The House of Delegates adopted a set of ethical guidelines to limit physician participation in interrogation of prisoners and detainees. Under the new guidelines, physicians must not conduct or directly participate in interrogations because it undermines the role of the physician as a healer. The prohibition on direct participation includes monitoring with the intention of intervening, under the AMA guidance.
However, the guidelines spell out a role for physicians to help develop interrogation strategies that are not coercive. Dr. Priscilla Ray, chair of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, which developed the proposal, said during a press conference that physicians can work with the military on strategies such as rapport building.
On caring for illegal immigrants, delegates voted to have AMA leadership ask that when federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Customs and Border Protection have custody of an undocumented foreign national, that they assume the cost of that person's health care instead of passing it on to the physician or hospital. The delegates asked AMA leaders to encourage public policy solutions on illegal immigration that take into consideration the financial impact of uncompensated care provided by hospitals, as well as by physicians, Medicare, and Medicaid.