Strengthen the standards of international conference support

The MOHW agrees to meet medical and pharmaceutical industry, promotion of revision of fair competition rules

The KMA will revise the regulations for recognition and screening of events and donations after government action

A draft of improved standards for supporting academic conferences, which have been partially exploited as a link between medical/medical device companies and medical rebates, has been prepared.

 

In the case of the international conferences, the number of participants participating in the evaluation criteria has been strengthened three times, and new closing report items for labor costs, rental fees, food and beverage expenses, and other expenses are created, and at the same time, there is a ban on additional provision of booths and advertising fees.

 

In the case of domestic conferences, the provisions of the self-pay rate and the conditions for returning surpluses are deleted in consideration of the fairness and fairness of the international competitions, but use is limited.

 

Scholarships for foreign conferences are divided into differential and policy support depending on the item.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has recently released an improvement plan under consideration for current questions regarding the standards for supporting medical and medical equipment companies' medical conferences.

 

This improvement aimed at ▲strengthening the management of international academic conferences ▲ realizing domestic academic conferences ▲ preparing support for participation in foreign academic conferences.

 

◆International Convention Management Reinforcement Plan and Support Plan= The government plans to revise the 'Academic Convention and Donation Recognition and Review Committee Regulations' in the medical industry and the industry to revise the 'fair competition rules' to strengthen international evaluation and management.

 

First, evaluation standards such as the number of foreign countries and the number of foreign participants are strengthened.

 

The current standard must be held for at least 2 days with more than 150 foreigners 'or' from 5 countries.

 

However, it is necessary to meet all of the requirements for foreign health care professionals from more than 5 countries and more than 50 people and to hold more than 2 days in the future.

 

In other words, the evaluation criteria for foreign participation have been strengthened three times and the 'or' standard is changed to 'and', which is a mandatory requirement.

 

The standards of foreign health professionals were also clarified, including presenters, chairpersons, and panelists.

 

A follow-up management system for subsidies is also established.

 

The government should newly settle the report on labor costs, rental, food and beverage, and other expenses, and disclose the list of academic conferences recognized by the KMA on the website.

 

In addition, a ban on additional provision of booths and advertising expenses in addition to donations will be newly established.

 

The government decided to include this in the revision of the Fair Competition Code.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it plans to send an official letter to the medical community when future rules are revised, and to strengthen the verification of participating academic conferences and prohibit duplicate receipt of participation funds when receiving medical institution travel expenses.

 

◆Domestic conference realization plan= In the case of a domestic conference, the government decided to remove the provision of 30% self-pay rate in consideration of the fairness of the international conference.

 

The conditions for returning surplus funds are also deleted.

 

However, the government decided to limit the use of unreturned surplus funds for the purpose of hosting the next academic conference.

 

In addition, as in the international convention, a prohibition to additionally provide booths and advertising fees in addition to donations is newly established.

 

It will be included in the new protocol.

 

◆Support plan for participation in foreign conferences= In the case of the flat-rate portion, which is an issue of foreign conferences, it should be clarified by item.

 

The government decided to stipulate that when companies apply for participation in foreign competitions, the cost of meals is differential by country, and local transportation costs are fixed.

 

Specific grades and amounts will be defined through consultation between groups.

 

Unlike the government's previous efforts to improve the system, the government explained that the improvement plan was led and discussed by the medical and industrial sectors.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “The medical industry actively took the lead in preparing the improvement plan by establishing voluntary and rational internal standards while actively sympathizing with the need to improve the standards for holding the event, and the industry actively participated in the improvement of fair competition rules and contributed to the understanding of the needs of member companies.” In the future, the Fair Trade Commission (the Knowledge Industry Monitoring Division) will review the revisions to the Fair Competition Rules and then proceed with the approval review.

 

When the revision is confirmed, the 'Academic Conference and Donation Target Recognition/Review Committee Regulations will be revised to set the standards for academic conference recognition.

 

However, this improvement plan has been agreed after a long discussion with the medical community (the KMA·medical society) and the pharmaceutical and medical device industry (the KPBMA, the KRPIA, the KMDIA).

 

There may be some changes in the process of revising the fair competition rules.