In January 2009, the North American Association of Medical Education and Communications Companies (NAAMECC) published a draft Code of Conduct for Commercially Supported Continuing Medical Education (CME).
According to its preamble, the Code is designed to be consistent with and complementary to existing federal statutes, state regulations, and policies of stakeholder organizations including the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Certainly, the lack of boundaries in the past is justification for increased oversight of the CME process.
But this latest foray into increasing accountability by the NAAMECC goes too far.
  The NAAMECC Draft Code of Conduct proposes that "Staff and/or freelancers who control content for promotional education should wait an appropriate length of time (eg, a "wash-out" period of 6 to 12 months) before working on educational content in the same therapeutic area.
Accredited providers should verify this "wash-out" for staff who control content.
No such "wash-out" period is needed for staff moving from educational to promotional work.
" If adopted, this Code would effectively impose a restriction of trade on medical writers that could negatively impact our ability to earn a living.
What the Code does, like so many discussions in the media recently about the role of medical writers have done, is make the assumption that medical writers are inherently unethical.
This assumption is simply false.
  As medical writers, it is our responsibility to uphold the scientific integrity of the content we develop wherever it appears and for whomsoever it is written-in CME programs, in medical journals, in sales training, in promotional literature, in patient education, and in advertising.
We are on the front line when it comes to explaining to over-eager clients that their data do not support their story.
We stand firm in writing only content that is supported by documented proof.
We are also on the front line when it comes to explaining to the health care professionals for whom we often write, that just because they "know something to be true" does not excuse them from providing, or us from finding, references that support the statements they wish us to write as their proxy.
  As a member of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), I, and all others who have applied or reapplied and been approved for membership, have pledged to uphold the Code of Ethics of our organization.
The AMWA Code of Ethics specifies that as medical communicators, we should apply objectivity, scientific accuracy and rigor, and fair balance while conveying pertinent information in all media.
With each assignment we undertake, whether as freelance or staff medical writers, our personal and professional reputations, our careers, and our ability to earn a living, are contingent upon our consistent and unwavering adherence to ethical practices.
  The recommendation by the NAAMECC to restrict medical writers' freedom to practice their profession also has the potential to make us unable to feed our families and put roofs over our heads.
I, and many freelance medical writers like me, write a variety of medical communications materials for a wide range of audiences, in a wide range of media.
This diversification provides us a degree of protection against the ebb and flow of the business environment.
For example, when pharmaceutical companies pare down their sales forces, the need for sales training materials declines and emphasis shifts to another communications area to take up the slack, such as CME.
The NAMMECC recommendation would inhibit the flexibility of freelance medical writers to follow the flow of these business opportunities, which could have dire economic consequences.
Likewise, a medical writer who is employed by a company that produces promotional materials would be restricted from advancing his or her career, and from regaining employment in the event of a layoff, if this recommendation is adopted.