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Albany Medical College | |
| City: Albany | State: NY | |
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Commentary:Albany Medical College has provided a set of strong policies that generally well-address the scorecard domains. Highlights of these policies include a general prohibition on samples and a ban on vendor gifts. Restrictions on vendor-supported meals would further strengthen this policy, as would the provision of regular disclosure requirements for staff and limitations on long-term speaking relationships such as speakers’ bureaus.
This institution's evaluation was last updated: 10/5/2009 |
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| Gifts & Meals |  |
Vendor gifts are prohibited. Other gifts and meals are permitted, but must be nominal (defined in the policy as being less than $150 in value). |
| Consulting relationships | |
There is institutional review of staff consulting relationships, but no explicit requirement for consulting relationships to be described in a contract. (Although relationships related to educational events must be described in a contract, there is no evidence that this requirement broadly applies to other consulting agreements.) |
| Industry-funded speaking relationships | |
Speakers and their managers must review content to ensure that the program is primarily educational in intent and presents a balance of available options or perspectives. |
| Disclosure |  |
There is no requirement in policies provided that all staff periodically disclose external relationships. |
| Pharmaceutical samples |  |
Samples are generally prohibited from being distributed at the institution. Exceptions must be specially requesting in writing and approved by the Director of Pharmacy or the Formulary Committee. |
| Purchasing & Formularies | |
All committee members must disclose conflicts of interest, but the policy does not require that conflicted members recuse themselves from deliberations. |
| Industry Sales Representatives | |
Industry representatives may come on-site only by appointment and at the request of the individual being visited. |
| On-campus Education | |
While this institution establishes good oversight of industry funds to support educational events, it is not clear that industry may not stipulate the department to receive the funds, or stipulate the topic of the event. |
| Attendance at Industry-Sponsored Lectures & Meetings Off-Campus | |
The policy prevents industry from earmarking individuals for support for off-site education, but it is not clear that individuals cannot accept payment for attendance. |
| Industry Support for Scholarships & Funds for Trainees | |
Although the policy does not differentiate between trainees and staff, it does prohibit industry from earmarking individuals for support for off-site education. |
| Medical school curriculum | |
Correspondence submitted with this institution’s policies refers to course requirements addressing conflicts of interest, but no evidence of this was included. |
| Do the policies specify an oversight mechanism? |  |
Oversight is established |
| Are there explicit sanctions for noncompliance? | |
Sanctions are referenced |
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 | Model policy |
 | Good progress toward model policy |
 | No policy, or policy unlikely to have a substantial effect on behavior |
 | Did not report |
 | Policy not relevant to this institution (e.g., does not make purchasing decisions) |
