An article in Newsweek discusses the conflicts of interest between doctors and big pharmaceutical companies. Doctors are routinely invited to sit on corporate boards or serve as an officer, a member of an advisory board, a paid speaker, or a consultant. Schools and hospitals receive research equipment, unrestricted funding, training and continuing education support, and funding from intellectual property licensing. Yes, that means part of the doctor's and institution's income comes from the company. These payments are not small. Which means the doctor is more likely to prescribe the company's products.
The article documents some of the hazards we face (remember Vioxx?) because there is no transparency of this interdependency. But that will soon change. The Affordable Care Act includes a Sunshine Act. Starting at the end of September a gov't-run website will list all payments from Big Pharma to physicians and teaching hospitals. Perhaps that light will prompt the adoption of some ethical guidelines.
I switched to a diet program outside of corporate medicine because theirs wasn't working. A report such as this one confirms why it didn't work.
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