• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

Prevention Is the Key in Developing Physician-Industry Relationships

by Mary Beth Nierengarten • January 1, 2009

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

Another key source is the guidelines on compliance by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services (http://oig.hhs.gov/testimony/docs/2008/demske_testimony022708.pdf ).

You Might Also Like

  • Otolaryngologists Manipulated by Tobacco Industry
  • Facing Conflicts: The Battle between Medicine and Industry
  • Put It in Writing: Hiring a physician extender involves more than a handshake
  • Developing Quality Measures in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Explore This Issue
January 2009

According to Ms. Smith, the OIG also offers a hotline that physicians can use to ask for advice.

Ms. Smith recommends that physicians use these resources to educate themselves and to raise the right questions as they work with a compliance officer or attorney in establishing ties with industry.

Table 1. AMA Guidelines: Gifts to Physicians from Industry

click for large version
Table 1. AMA Guidelines: Gifts to Physicians from Industry

Perception is Reality

For Gavin Setzen, MD, Chair-Elect of the Board of Governors (BOG) and Immediate Past-Chair of the Socioeconomic and Grassroots Committee of the AAO-HNS, as well as an otolaryngologist in private practice at Albany ENT and Allergy Services in Albany, NY, transparency is critical to, above all else, protecting the trust between physician and patient.

One has to be very careful about how these relationships [between physicians and industry] evolve, he said. I think from the patient’s perspective, there is a potential problem even if there is only the perception of an improper relationship.

To dispel any sense of impropriety, Dr. Setzen does not allow any products with logos of pharmaceutical or medical device companies in his private practice.

He also thinks that organized medicine-representing bodies, such as the AAO-HNS, must be free of any bias or inappropriate relationship in how it advertises itself and how it counsels its members.

Scrutiny and oversight are only going to become more intense, and to maintain professionalism and credibility as an organization or individual physician, I think one has to become more aware of these issues and develop a compliance program to ensure that physicians remain informed about and adhere to recommendations such as those proposed by the AMA, he said.

From a legal point of view, the importance of perception is also critical. According to Ms. Smith, there is a view in the enforcement community that any joint venture between a physician and medical device company, for example, in itself violates the antikickback law. The concern is that a physician’s financial stake in the profit of the device may influence his or her use of the device. Although this view can be rebutted, said Ms. Smith, it does indicate just how vulnerable physicians can be in these relationships.

To reduce the risk involved in forming these relationships, and any perception of impropriety, she emphasizes prevention as the key and encourages physicians to understand enough about the issues raised by these relationships to ask the right questions and seek help in the right places.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Career Development, Practice Management Issue: January 2009

You Might Also Like:

  • Otolaryngologists Manipulated by Tobacco Industry
  • Facing Conflicts: The Battle between Medicine and Industry
  • Put It in Writing: Hiring a physician extender involves more than a handshake
  • Developing Quality Measures in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Would you choose a concierge physician as your PCP?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • A Journey Through Pay Inequity: A Physician’s Firsthand Account

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Shifting the Treatment Goalpost Toward Medical Management of Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • Excitement Around Gene Therapy for Hearing Restoration
    • “Small” Acts of Kindness
    • How To: Endoscopic Total Maxillectomy Without Facial Skin Incision
    • Science Communities Must Speak Out When Policies Threaten Health and Safety
    • Observation Most Cost-Effective in Addressing AECRS in Absence of Bacterial Infection

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939