US specialty societies are urged to adopt code on relations with industry

A US organisation is calling on all medical societies to sign up to a code of ethics that would set standards for their relations with drug companies and encourage them to be far more open about their funding.

The US Council of Medical Specialty Societies released the voluntary code on doctors’ interactions with manufacturers of drugs and devices on 21 April. The council said that 13 of its 32 member societies had already adopted the code and others were planning to adopt it.

The council’s member societies represent about 650 000 of the 920 000 or so doctors in the United States. Some societies have already adopted their own policies that are similar to the new code.

The …