The government will conduct a survey to know about the economic benefits provided to medical personnel through academic conferences or clinical trial support. More than 13,000 companies, including pharmaceutical and medical device companies, are on the survey list.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) said Wednesday that they would conduct a fact-finding survey concerning economic benefits provided to medical professionals and pharmacists by pharma companies and medical equipment manufacturers from June 1 to July 31.
It is the first survey since the government obligated businesses to submit their expenditure reports according to revised laws in July 2021.
Officials will conduct the survey considering the protection of personal and business information included in the expenditure report and announce the result focusing on the statistically analyzed information.
The details of the survey include the status of preparation of last year's expenditure report and general status. More specifically, the businesses should submit their spending regarding sample provision, support for academic conferences, support for clinical trials, product promotions, discounts on cost according to payment conditions, post-marketing surveys, and premarketing confirmation of medical device functions.
HIRA will send document forms and guiding materials to pharmaceutical firms and medical device makers subject to the survey in May. If the companies fail to submit reports, they can face one year or lower imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,200).
The ministry and the institute will analyze submitted data from August to November and announce results on the ministry’s website in December.
“This survey is significant, as it identifies the size of economic benefits provided by pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies to medical professionals and establishes a sound distribution order," said Ha Tae-gil, director of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Division at the ministry. “We hope companies will understand the government’s intention and actively participate in it.”