This post courtesy of Anne Taylor-Vaisey:
From the October 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine:
D. M. Studdert, M. M. Mello, and T. A. Brennan.
Financial Conflicts of Interest in Physicians' Relationships with the Pharmaceutical Industry Self-Regulation in the Shadow of Federal Prosecution. New England Journal of Medicine October 28 2004;351(18):1891-1900.
The past two years have witnessed extraordinary regulatory ferment in the area of conflicts of interest involving physicians, especially conflicts arising in relationships with the pharmaceutical industry. Professional regulatory bodies, the pharmaceutical industry, and the government have all decided that physicians and drug manufacturers need stronger advice about appropriate relationships. In 2002, three leading professional organizations the American Medical Association,1 the American College of Physicians,2 and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education3 issued or revamped guidelines regarding physicians' interactions with drug companies. In July 2002, acting through its trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry adopted a broad code of conduct for its constituencies.4 In April 2003, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services released a set of guidelines with which manufacturers were urged to comply in order to guard against the risk of liability.
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