Drop the Tchotchke, Slowly Back Away

Since its inception a few months ago, there have been two very interesting clusters of stories we have covered in the TSW MedShow Report, our biweekly e-newsletter devoted to the health care sector.

The first has been the growing phenomenon of for-profit show organizers and conference planners launching shows and continuing medical education programs, sometimes in competition with non-profit medical societies that historically have considered that their province.

The second group of stories has reported the very rapid development of regulations that would limit the way pharmaceutical and medical device companies can market their products to health care professionals, primarily physicians.

Competition between association and for-profit organizers is not a new phenomenon. It's gone on in every sector for decades, probably with just about the same number of winners and losers on each side of the show-organizing fence. With the newly charged regulatory atmosphere in health care marketing, however, there's a new twist.

There is little doubt that for-profit organizers have found the way to make a profit with health care. Canon Communications and Reed Exhibitions both have made multiple acquisitions and launched several shows in the area in recent years. Even before that, Pri-Med quietly was adding conference programs and tradeshows in the arena to its portfolio.

For reasons that have most to do with politicians' efforts to demonstrate they want to do something about the rising cost of health care for their constituents, both the U.S. Congress and state legislatures have begun introducing or strengthening measures to limit or completely restrict the gifts, meals, honoraria and other marketing incentives given to health care professionals. Depending on the legislation in question, this could include the usual kinds of modest items handed out at tradeshow exhibit booths, receptions and meals hosted by exhibitors or show organizers during events, honoraria to speakers and sponsorships.

At least partly in an effort to head off some of these measures, professional associations in the health care field are rushing to put their own restrictions into place first. The most dramatic move along these lines was the July 10 decision by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Board of Directors to revise its PhRMA Code to include a ban on the distribution of non-educational items such as pens, mugs or any other kind of gifts. The decision also prohibits pharmaceutical sales representatives from providing restaurant meals to health care professionals.

Five days later, by pure coincidence I'm sure, the Massachusetts State Senate dropped pending legislation that would have banned all gifts of any kind to physicians.

Health care exhibitors and the show managers who love them have until Jan. 1 to adjust.

In another development, and for similar reasons, Pfizer announced it would no longer provide funding to commercial continuing medical education programs, just to programs that it felt served patients directly.

For our readers' purposes, that means for-profit organizers will be impacted. In fact, Pfizer mentioned Pri-Med by name, pointing out the for-profit entity does an excellent job of providing continuing medical education – but Pfizer won't be doing business with it any longer.

So, in the ongoing – albeit healthy – competition between association and for-profit show organizers, in this particular sector at this time, chalk one up for the associations.

Michael Hart is editor-in-chief of Tradeshow Week. He can be reached at hartm@reedbusiness.com.