NEWS - Institute of Medicine calls for doctors to stop taking gifts from drug makers

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Institute of Medicine Calls for Doctors to Stop Taking Gifts From Drug Makers

New York Times

Published: April 28, 2009

WASHINGTON — In a scolding report, the nation’s most influential

medical advisory group said doctors should stop taking much of the

money, gifts and free drug samples they routinely accept from drug and

device companies.

The report, by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy

of Sciences, is a stinging indictment of many of the most common means

by which drug and device makers endear themselves to doctors, medical

schools and hospitals.

“It is time for medical schools to end a number of long-accepted

relationships and practices that create conflicts of interest,

threaten the integrity of their missions and their reputations, and

put public trust in jeopardy,” the report concluded.

The institute’s report is even more damning than a similar one

released last year by the Association of American Medical Colleges,

which proposed tough new rules governing interactions between

companies and medical schools.

In the wake of the association’s report, many schools and medical

societies toughened their policies. The institute’s imprimatur is

certain to accelerate this process.

“With the I.O.M.’s endorsement, issues that were once controversial

now are indisputable,” said Dr. Rothman, president of the

Institute on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia University.

“Conflicts of interest in medicine are no longer acceptable.”

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Read the full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/health/policy/29drug.html?ref=us

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