The Janssen Way
Our approach to continuous professional development
At Janssen, we believe that sponsoring and supporting Life-long Learning in Healthcare (LLH) programmes is part of our responsibility for the medicines we develop. This work contributes to the enhancement of medical practice by increasing knowledge about diseases and the latest standards of care.
All pharmaceutical companies address LLH differently. Our approach is called 'The Janssen Way'.
Partnering for Lifelong Learning in Healthcare (LLH)
Through The Janssen Way, we aim to contribute to high quality education in true partnership with the medical community, and ensure that important new medical advances are discussed in a variety of settings, from international congresses to smaller educational meetings.
Strict company principles and compliance requirements ensure we set out clear procedures on interactions with individual healthcare professionals, as well as those with medical societies and institutions.
For Janssen, there are three types of activities.
I am very grateful to be working with a like-minded team at Janssen and have the opportunity to deliver easily accessible educational updates and in-depth discussion to allow my colleagues and I to keep fully informed, and give our patients the opportunity for optimal treatment at all stages of their disease.
Dr Heather Payne
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
The three types of LLH activities
Congress attendance
The educational meetings we support must foster scientific exchange and disseminate the latest standard of care to facilitate safe and effective treatment for patients. Some of these meetings are accredited by accreditation bodies and some are not. At Janssen we apply the same quality rules to both.
We follow the EFPIA code of practice: Article 16 for Medical Education activities. Locally, Janssen follows national events accreditation and local rules and codes of practice, including any applicable endorsement if required by Health Authorities.
We provide financial support in the form of grants and sponsorships to major national and European congresses because of the role they play in the dissemination of important medical advances.
Medical education programmes
We support medical educational events and activities, organised with independent experts according to strict Janssen principles. Janssen’s policy is based on the Article 16 of the EFPIA Code of Practice, as well as on local regulations and codes of practice, depending on which are stricter.
Meetings are non-promotional
All educational meetings are managed by Janssen’s Medical Affairs department which is separate from the commercial side of our business. Janssen’s educational meetings do not focus on a single drug but disease areas. Medicine brand names are not used and any discussion about specific treatments has to be balanced and factual.
Content
The content and programme of meetings are developed by external expert Scientific Committees and/or Medical Associations. They select the topics that they judge to be educationally relevant and choose the presenters to lead the sessions. The speakers are responsible for their presentations. Janssen only review them to ensure they are up to date, fair and balanced in terms of information about our products.
Conflict of interest
All speakers have to declare any conflict of interest, including which pharmaceutical companies have paid them, and in what capacity, e.g. as presenters, sitting on advisory boards, congress participation etc.
Format
The key focus of these meetings is science, the agenda must reflect it, the choice of location and the hospitality provided must be secondary to this main purpose. The amount of time spent on the scientific programme needs to far exceed the break times.
External validation
To ensure the quality of the education and training provided, we work with external educational bodies at both country and regional level.
Individual support
In many countries, authorities require Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) to keep up to date with medical advances through continued education, but often do not support postgraduate medical education.
Along with other pharmaceutical companies, Janssen takes part of the responsibility here. Janssen’s selection process is transparent and is based on doctors’ educational needs or active involvement in a particular meeting or event.
Any individual support is, of course, subject to local regulations, such as required notification to health authorities or contribution by the individual doctor.
How our LLH work is regulated and disclosed
We are confident that the Janssen Way meets society’s expectations of transparent and unbiased LLH, whilst fostering scientific exchange and knowledge dissemination to ensure the best treatment outcomes for patients.
In addition to the criteria outlined above, Janssen has strict rules to ensure the educational support it provides does not constitute undue influence.
Logistics
Hotels are business venues (and under no circumstances are they luxury or entertainment venues), and flights are economy, unless the duration exceeds six hours – if local rules permit. There are limits on the amount which can be spent on food and drink too, based on local pharmaceutical association hospitality limits.
Service fees
Janssen pays a token amount when requesting services such as speaker engagement, serving on advisory boards or developing educational materials. Fees are calculated based on the time dedicated to providing the service, as advised by independent sources.
Transparency
Since June 2016 Janssen has made the transfers of value public to healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations annually, according to the EFPIA Disclosure Code and national Industry Association guidelines or national regulations, as appropriate.