Business Ethics for APEC SMEs Initiative: Strengthening Ethical Business Practices for the Medical Technology Sector
Overseen by the United States Government in close partnership with the 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (“APEC”), the Business Ethics for APEC SMEs Initiative (“initiative”) is the world’s largest public-private partnership to strengthen ethical conduct and drive a level playing field in the medical technology sector. The initiative also serves as the region’s largest collective action initiative to reinforce ethics and business integrity across health systems. The collective work of over 2,000 stakeholders since 2010 enables this results-driven initiative to: (1) identify and set best practices, (2) facilitate adherence to these practices through capacity building for SMEs, and (3) monitor / evaluate progress within each APEC economy.
OUR FOCUS
Upholding high-standard ethical business practices and sustaining patient trust is of utmost importance to health systems in all APEC economies, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in health-related sectors. The initiative emphasizes the role of ethical business practices to strengthen economies, businesses, health systems, and innovation, demonstrating in practice the diverse and numerous advantages of embracing integrity for all stakeholders in health-related sectors, shifting the conversation beyond the “costs of corruption.” This strengthens the business environment for SMEs to flourish, leveling the playing field as companies go abroad, promoting better business performance, access to financing, lowering business reputation risk, and increasing attractiveness to international markets. This focus has led to significant outcomes for the APEC region over the past decade, affecting tens of thousands of companies, hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals, and millions of patients
OUR ACTIVITIES
Developing and implementing harmonized ethical principles and codes of ethics for the medical technology sector
Creating and supporting economy-wide consensus frameworks for ethical collaboration spanning diverse stakeholders
Engaging with government to promote strategies to encourage ethical business conduct and prevent corruption
Strengthening ethical third-party intermediary relationships through capacity-building resources (Global Distributor Compliance Toolkit)
Monitoring and evaluating progress through annual survey programs
Measuring the impact of ethical business practices and assessing benefits
OUR PARTNERS
- Medical Technology Industry Organizations and Companies
- Government Officials from APEC Economies – Including SME, Health, Trade, Economic, and Anti-Corruption Authorities
- Healthcare Professionals and Societies
- Patients and Patient Organizations
- Civil Society and Academia