Relations to vendors and all other private entities are covered by the Code of Government Ethics and the policies promulgated by the LSU Health Science Center Conflict of Interest Committee via various Chancellors Memoranda. All state employees are bound by the ethics statutes with the most relevant being Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics Title 43, Chapter 15 number 6 page 14 – Gifts. To paraphrase - "no public employee shall solicit or accept directly or indirectly anything of economic value as a gift or gratuity from any person if the public employee does or reasonably should know such a person conducts activities or operations regulated by the public employee's agency or has substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee's duty. " When in the various training sites the House Officer is further bound by the rules and policies of that institution.
In addition to the ethic statutes and Chancellor Memoranda, House Officers are bound by the AMA Code of Medical Ethics guidelines of Gifts to Physicians from Industry.
AMA Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion 8.061, Gifts to Physicians from Industry
- Any gifts accepted by physicians individually should primarily entail a benefit to patients and should not be of substantial value. Accordingly, textbooks, modest meals, and other gifts are appropriate if they serve a genuine educational function. Cash payments should not be accepted. The use of drug samples for personal or family use is permissible as long as these practices do not interfere with patient access to drug samples. It would not be acceptable for non-retired physicians to request free pharmaceuticals for personal use or use by family members.
- Individual gifts of minimal value are permissible as long as the gifts are related to the physician's work (e.g., pens and notepads).
- The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs defines a legitimate "conference" or "meeting" as any activity, held at an appropriate location, where (a) the gathering is primarily dedicated, in both time and effort, to promoting objective scientific and educational activities and discourse (one or more educational presentation(s) should be the highlight of the gathering), and (b) the main incentive for bringing attendees together is to further their knowledge on the topic(s) being presented. An appropriate disclosure of financial support or conflict of interest should be made.
- Subsidies to underwrite the costs of continuing medical education conferences or professional meetings can contribute to the improvement of patient care and therefore are permissible. Since the giving of a subsidy directly to a physician by a company's representative may create a relationship that could influence the use of the company's products, any subsidy should be accepted by the conference's sponsor who in turn can use the money to reduce the conference's registration fee. Payments to defray the costs of a conference should not be accepted directly from the company by the physicians attending the conference.
- Subsidies from industry should not be accepted directly or indirectly to pay for the costs of travel, lodging, or other personal expenses of physicians attending conferences or meetings, nor should subsidies be accepted to compensate for the physicians' time. Subsidies for hospitality should not be accepted outside of modest meals or social events held as a part of a conference or meeting. It is appropriate for faculty at conferences or meetings to accept reasonable honoraria and to accept reimbursement for reasonable travel, lodging, and meal expenses. It is also appropriate for consultants who provide genuine services to receive reasonable compensation and to accept reimbursement for reasonable travel, lodging, and meal expenses. Token consulting or advisory arrangements cannot be used to justify the compensation of physicians for their time or their travel, lodging, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
- Scholarship or other special funds to permit medical students, House Officers, and fellows to attend carefully selected educational conferences may be permissible as long as the selection of students, House Officers, or fellows who will receive the funds is made by the academic or training institution. Carefully selected educational conferences are generally defined as the major educational, scientific or policy-making meetings of national, regional, or specialty medical associations.
- No gifts are to accepted if there are stipulations attached. For example, physicians should not accept gifts if they are given in relation to the prescribing practices of the physician. In addition, when companies underwrite medical conferences or lectures other than their own, responsibility for and control over the selection of content, faculty, educational methods, and materials should belong to the organizers of the conferences or lectures. (II) GMEC: June, 2007