The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), a trade association of medical device manufacturers, has approved a major update to its “Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals.” The code is designed to clarify appropriate and inappropriate activity between healthcare professionals and representatives of AdvaMed member companies. The revised guidelines include the following provisions:

• A prohibition on providing gifts of any type, entertainment, or recreation to healthcare providers
• Guidelines to allow companies to enter into royalty arrangements with providers in exchange for contributions that improve medical technologies
• A description of appropriate parameters under which companies may provide no-charge products intended to educate providers and patients
• Expanded guidelines regarding the provision of objective non-medical information to providers to improve patient access to medical technologies

AdvaMed has also revised current code sections to provide greater clarity and rigor in areas such as consulting agreements, company-conducted training and education for healthcare professionals, and research and educational grants, among other key areas. Watch for a full report on the revised code of ethics, its impact on relationships between orthopaedic surgeons and industry, and an interview with Christopher White, general counsel for AdvaMed, in an upcoming issue of AAOS Now.