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Belgium transparency system implemented to show health care sector interactions
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Belgium has implemented a self-regulatory system called BeTransparent.be in an effort to make interactions between physicians, health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies and medical technology companies more transparent.
The general public, health care professionals and others will be able to access the information at the website, which will be rolled out in phases, according to an article in the MedTech Europe July newsletter. The first phase of the launch involved publishing data from transactions from 80 pharmaceutical companies. Data were available for viewing as of 5 July. A second phase will involve making data available from medical technology and generics companies, according to the article. The Belgium transparency system is based on the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations or EFPIA Code.
According to a press release from Be Transparent.be, the platform was created by 27 organizations in the Belgian health sector that voluntarily agreed to cooperate on the program. The types of transactions found at the online platform are research and development, donations and grants, attendance at scientific congresses and consultancy agreements.
To date, the data refer only to collaborations with innovative pharmaceutical companies in 2015. For example, the data now posted show the pharmaceutical companies involved invested 138,546,264 euros in collaborations and support for scientific research in Belgium.
In a later phase, data related to collaborations with medical device companies, and for generic and non-prescription drugs, will also be published on the platform. This is a strong signal that will lead to more transparency in the whole sector, according to the press release. – by Susan M. Rapp
References:
www.medtecheurope.org/node/880