As part of our commitment to high ethical standards and enhancing trust, Innovative Medicines Canada has developed a Voluntary Framework on Disclosure of Payments made to healthcare professionals and/or organizations in exchange for services and to fund charitable, educational and scientific activities.Collaboration between healthcare professionals, healthcare organizations and the pharmaceutical industry is essential to improving the quality of life of Canadians as it drives scientific advancements, enhances medical education, and promotes health literacy.
Starting in June 2017, 10 Canadian pharmaceutical companies – all of them members of Innovative Medicines Canada – will begin publishing aggregated sums of their payments to Canadian healthcare professionals (HCP) and healthcare organizations (HCO) based on the following reporting framework:
There are currently 10 voluntary disclosing member companies:
The Voluntary Framework on Disclosure of Payments provides members of Innovative Medicines Canada with a framework to publish aggregated sums of payments to Canadian healthcare professionals (HCP) and healthcare organizations (HCO).
Scope
In considering the types of activities/categories whereby member companies would disclose aggregated payments, it was decided that disclosure would take place in the following areas:
1. Fee for healthcare professional services/transfer of value to Canadian healthcare professionals
Any direct or indirect payment made to a Canadian HCP by a Canadian Innovative Medicines Canada member company or a third party acting on behalf of the member company, in exchange for services rendered by said HCP to the Canadian member company. Such services may include services rendered as a speaker, consultant or advisor to the Canadian member company. Consistent with the current Code of Ethical Practices, a HCP is defined as, “… a person who by education, training, certification, or licensure is qualified to and is engaged in providing healthcare. This can include any of the following: an individual who is currently practicing medicine, nursing, or dispensing medicines in Canada or any other person who, in the course of his or her professional activities, may prescribe, recommend or administer a prescription medicine or be involved in related treatment or disease management.”
For greater certainty, a direct or indirect payment to a Canadian HCP payment is defined as:
Members companies should be prepared to disclosure the aggregated totals of fee for service. Dependent upon the member company’s system and reporting capabilities, these totals may or may not include applicable taxes as well as related incidental expenses. Member companies are encouraged to include explanatory notes on the respective website so as to describe and explain the amounts disclosed. For instance, a member company whose systems do not allow the extraction of applicable taxes may include an explanatory note to the effect of, “*taxes included.” Payments made for services, as defined herein, rendered by a Canadian HCP for an international affiliate of the Canadian member company would not be considered in scope for this framework.
2. Funding to healthcare organizations
Any direct or indirect provision of funding to a HCO for the purpose of supporting efforts related to, but not limited to, charitable, educational, and scientific activities. For the purpose of this framework, a HCO is defined as a private or public sector organization, institution or association that is comprised of HCPs and/or provides healthcare services (e.g. hospitals, primary care organizations, hospital foundations, HCP organizations and universities).
This provision of funding excludes:
3. Sponsorship of Canadian healthcare professionals travel
A direct or indirect provision of financial assistance to a Canadian HCP for the purpose of attending an international congress (as permitted under Sections 10.2 of the Code of Ethical Practices). Such funding is intended for expenses related to travel, accommodation, meals and congress registration fees (as permitted by the Code) and does not include any honoraria or fee for service.