accepting gifts

[ResidentMD]

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So to veer my mind off residency - was just wondering, what are the rules regarding accepting gifts from pharmaceutical companies?

I guess one can accept educational materials like textbooks, CDs, possibly meals (though in a recent conference I read a disclaimer for physicians from 3 states - MA def was one of them - who should refrain from the meals).

Is it okay for pharma companies to reimburse physicians on travel and lodging to and from conferences/symposiums that they are a part of (as long as relations are mentioned in the conflict of interest statement)?

 

[Scaredshizzles]

So to veer my mind off residency - was just wondering, what are the rules regarding accepting gifts from pharmaceutical companies?

I guess one can accept educational materials like textbooks, CDs, possibly meals (though in a recent conference I read a disclaimer for physicians from 3 states - MA def was one of them - who should refrain from the meals).

Is it okay for pharma companies to reimburse physicians on travel and lodging to and from conferences/symposiums that they are a part of (as long as relations are mentioned in the conflict of interest statement)?

I find these ethics guidelines insulting...It is unlikely that I will choose a drug based on who gave me a free meal...And even if a doctor did choose based on that, it would only be because they had no other credible evidence of which drug was better within a class of drugs. So instead of making a completely random choice based on drug data which was initially funded privately by the company producing the drug as opposed to choosing based on who fed you---what difference does it make?

The entire pharmaceutical industry runs on fudging drug study data anyway, and the FDA turns the other cheek.. So why is so much attention paid on doctors receiving a few gifts from the drug industry---because we're an easy target to blame as opposed to the real issues? It is insulting.