These include:
- Transparency laws/code: Laws and/or ethical codes that require medical technology and/or pharmaceutical companies to track and report publicly payments made to healthcare professionals and organisations (i.e. HCPs and HCOs, covering individuals as well as entities).
- Transparency principle: Laws and/or ethical codes’ provisions that require medical technology and pharmaceutical companies to issue prior written notification or approval to the hospital administration, the HCPs’ superiors or other locally-designated competent authority to disclose the purpose and scope of the interaction between the company and the HCP.
- Clinical data/trial transparency: Public access to patient data gathered in clinical trials, mainly discussed within the pharmaceutical field. This is linked to the public right to transparency regarding data used to approve new medicines, data protection and confidential/business secrets topics.
- Transparency of regulatory data by EU agencies: Various EU Regulatory Agencies (e.g. EMA, ECHA, EEA) are following a trend towards greater openness to access requests by the public, coupled with more extensive proactive data dissemination. This is based on the public’s ‘right to know’ as well the benefits transparency brings to public confidence in the European institutions.
- Transparency directive 89/105/EEC: Transparency obligations for authorities in their pricing and reimbursement procedures for pharmaceutical products only.
Transparency register of the European institutions: A public database recording details of what interests are being pursued, by whom and with what budgets. The system is operated jointly by the European Parliament and the European Commission.
As an organisation, MedTech Europe is registered in the European Transparency register. In addition, our members are committed to transparency in their interactions with HCPs. The Code provides obligations that fall under the first three categories listed above, including the disclosure of educational grants in the TransparentMedTech Portal.
