The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) has announced the release of the CMSS Code for Interactions with Companies. The code seeks to provide detailed guidance to medical specialty societies on appropriate interactions with for-profit companies in the healthcare sector. The voluntary code is designed to ensure that societies’ interactions with companies are independent and transparent, and advance medical care for the benefit of patients and populations. CMSS represents 32 medical professional societies, with a collective membership of more than 650,000 US physicians.
The CMSS code was developed by a 30-member task force consisting of the leaders of member societies. At the time of this release, 13 medical societies have already formally adopted the code and committed to fully implementing it. Others plan to adopt it over the coming months, and many members already have policies in place that meet or exceed some of the principles in the code. The code includes seven core principles and detailed guidance on implementation. The principles cover key areas such as conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, independent programme development and independent leadership.
The 25-page code recognises that CMSS member societies have different organisational structures and may apply its requirements differently based on their individual activities and infrastructure. Further, some societies may choose to adopt policies that are more rigorous than what the code requires.
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