Codes of Conduct: New Rules a Stress Test for Show Managers

A year after the health care industry's major supplier organizations implemented sweeping reforms meant to clean up their act, exhibition organizers in the field say they're feeling a difference.

Following years of discussion about how to make health care product marketing educational rather than simply influential, several groups — the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Advanced Medical Technology Assn. — adopted codes of conduct outlining ethical interactions between product promoters and doctors. Among other things, the guidelines limit sponsorships and giveaways pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers can use in marketing to doctors.

For instance, the PhRMA Code dictates that members who underwrite meetings let organizers decide on content, speakers and venues. Both the PhRMA and the AdvaMed codes state that giveaway items should have educational value and be worth less than $100.

Barbara Charbonneau, senior manager of exhibits for the American Heart Assn., said the new standards have definitely changed things at her Tradeshow Week 200-ranked AHA Scientific Sessions— but subtly. "We're not seeing fewer exhibitors or fewer promotions, but we are noticing that extracurricular events are very much more targeted toward education," Charbonneau said. "Rather than having the big, fancy parties, suppliers are doing educational events with more modest meals."

She added that pharmaceutical companies seem to be taking the PhRMA code particularly seriously, involving their legal departments and paying close attention to their sponsorships and giveaways. To help exhibitors overcome old attitudes of attendees who go to meetings looking for handouts, Charbonneau and her team have changed their own attendance promotions.

Other shows have felt a more negative impact. Randy Bauler, corporate relations and exhibits director for the American Assn. of Critical-Care Nurses, which produces the Natl. Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, said the May 18–20 show in Orlando saw record participation, but the new regulations posed some challenges nonetheless. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals was going to drop out of the expo entirely, but show organizers found a product line that applied to critical care nurses, and the company decided to stay in the show — albeit with a much smaller booth than in years past. Eli Lilly & Co. maintained its large presence in the expo, but cut back its sponsorships.

The new standards don't seem to be affecting health care shows' overall performance. According to TSW's Semiannual Medical & Health Care Show Report, the sector saw an 8.5-percent increase in professional attendance, a 1.5-percent increase in exhibitors and a 1.7-percent increase in net square footage in the second half of 2003, compared with the second half of 2002.

And, the hardest part may be over. Although one more association recently adopted codes of conduct — the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education — the Health Care Exhibitors Assn. reported that "none of the language addressing healthcare exhibits has changed significantly." Still, a considerable portion of HCEA's annual meeting, taking place June 12–15 in Austin, Texas, will be devoted to hashing out issues stemming from regulatory revisions.