Saturday, May 24, 2008

Big Bucks, Big Pharma (Part 5)



More about conflicts of interest with managed care and the pharmaceutical industry and a look at the efforts of groups such as the American Medical Student Association and No Free Lunch, a US-based advocacy organization that holds that marketing methods employed by drug companies influence the way doctors and other healthcare providers prescribe medications. These groups seek to convince physicians to refuse to accept gifts, money, or hospitality from pharmaceutical companies because it claims that these gifts create a conflict of interest for providers. They also advocate for less involvement of drug companies in medical education and practice in a variety of other ways.