Industry Relationships
Relationship of healthcare providers with the healthcare industry is inevitable, but does give rise to professional and ethical questions. In general:
- Community benefit should be the deciding factor behind any association
- Financial benefits to the provider are not sanctioned by ANZCA
- Any association with a provider:
- Must be openly declared if there is financial or material support to the provider
- Does not imply endorsement of the product
- Cannot rely on affiliation to ANZCA
- Should respect responsibility fellows hold to their colleagues and trainees
- Any association with ANZCA:
- Does not imply endorsement of the product/service
- Must have all sources of funding declared
Industry-supported education must have:
- An organising committee independent of industry
- Industry may have minority representation
- Advertising material clearly advertised as such
- Declaration by presenters of industry funding and support
Presenters should present content in an unbiased manner.
Industry-supported research must have:
- Written contracts administered by a neurtral third party
e.g. Hospital, university, research foundation. - Financial arrangements should be via the third party
- A right for investigators to access and publish data, independent of outcome
Industry-sponsored employment must be:
- Paid via a neutral third-party
- Subject to normal rule sof the employer
- Not for work usually done pro-bono
e.g. Mentorship, short courses, exam practice, etc.