No more freebies
Posted on April 28th, 2009 – 10:26 AMBy Thomas Lee
The Institute of Medicine has just released a report that harshly criticizes the money, gifts, and other perks drug and medical device companies lavish on doctors.
The topic has generated much attention- critics say it poses conflicts of interests that tempts doctors into pushing products on patients regardless whether the treatments work or not. The Star Tribune and other media have done stories detailing “consulting” fees Medtronic pays to the doctors at the University of Minnesota. Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Herb Kohl have sponsored legislation to force the disclosure of such payments.
Defenders of the practice says industry/academic/medical collaborations are essential to innovation, developing new treatments and devices that ultimately benefit patients.
The IOM is pretty clear how it feels about these issues:
Although research collaborations can benefit society, financial ties between medicine and industry can create significant risks that these interests will inappropriately influence professional judgments. Such conflicts of interest jeopardize the integrity of scientific investigations and also threaten the objectivity of professional education, the quality of patient care, and the public’s trust in medicine.
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