DHSC drops plans for new law, but will issue guidance on disclosure of industry payments to healthcare sector

The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed it will not legislate the mandatory disclosure of life sciences industry payments to the healthcare sector, but will introduce best practice guidance. 

The consultation on the proposed new law was introduced back in 2023 in response to recommendation 8 of the First Do No Harm Report, regarding real and perceived conflicts of interest in the healthcare system. The consultation sought views on imposing a duty on manufacturers and commercial suppliers of medicines, medical devices and borderline substances to disclose payments and benefits provided to healthcare professionals and organisations.

There is no statutory guidance in place governing such payments, which are common practice across the sector, with industry and healthcare bodies generally relying on compliance with industry guidance under the ABPI Code and the ABHI Code. 

In the consultation outcome, the DHSC confirms that it will not introduce secondary legislation to make disclosure mandatory. Instead, the DHSC will develop and publish best practice for how the industry should engage with reporting, addressing:

            • the types of payments which should be reported

            • how reports should be formatted

            • the frequency of reporting

In its decision, DHSC considered a need for improved transparency alongside the Government's commitment to reduce the regulatory burden on the medicines and medical devices industry. It also commented that introducing guidance would be quicker than new legislation, allowing patients to benefit from greater transparency more rapidly. 

The guidance will be developed over the coming months with stakeholders and consider the consultation responses. 

If you would like to discuss how the prospective guidance might impact you or your products, please contact our Health, Care and Life Sciences team.

This article was written by Rory Trust and Maegan Watts.