Healthy Skepticism Library item: 905

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Schumacher A.
Doctors and dinners
2005 Mar 22

Full text:

Re Can Your Doctor Be Bought For A Dinner? (March 14): Arthur Schafer correctly points out that very few Canadian physicians prescribe inappropriate treatments for their patients, regardless of outside influences from sources such as pharmaceutical companies.

Indeed, Canadians can take comfort in the fact that the first duty of physicians is the well-being of their patients. This is reflected in a Canadian Medical Association policy, Physicians and the Pharmaceutical Industry, which states: “The primary objective of professional interactions between physicians and industry should be the advancement of the health of Canadians rather than the private good of either physicians or industry.”

The policy does not allow physicians to accept payment for trips to conferences or similar events, and allows only hospitality “of modest nature.”

At the same time, the organization representing Canadian pharmaceutical companies, Rx&D, recently announced changes to its code of conduct that bring this document more into line with the CMA policy. This is not a voluntary code; there are financial (and other) penalties for companies found to be in breach.