Medical Ethics

Doctors say no to drug company gifts

Published in State and Local Health Law Weekly, February 17th, 2005

A group of doctors say they'll no longer accept free coffee mugs, pens or other trinkets and free lunches from pharmaceutical representatives in an effort to keep their brand names in view and hoping the doctors will prescribe their drugs.

"It's just plain ethically wrong and it's designed to color our judgment," Dean Abramson, MD, of Gastroenterologists P.C. said of the practice. "I don't think patients realize how much drug companies spend on this."

According to a report by the California Public Interest Research Group, U.S. spending on "detailing" efforts by drug representatives to reach doctors directly totals nearly $5 billion annually, costs...

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Source: State and Local Health Law Weekly (2005-02-17)

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