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Perspective
Volume 360:557-559 February 5, 2009 Number 6
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Physician–Industry Relations — Will Fewer Gifts Make a Difference?
Robert Steinbrook, M.D.

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The most common industry payments to physicians have taken the form of gifts, such as meals, tickets to sporting or cultural events, and pens, mugs, and other tchotchkes that prominently feature the names of companies or their products.1

Although some physicians decline gifts from industry, meals and other goodies are an important component of the approximately $7 billion that drug companies spend annually on promotion to medical professionals in the United States. Billions more are spent in the provision of free samples and direct-to-consumer advertising. The gifts, however, are not really "free." Even small gifts can influence physicians' behavior; they . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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Dr. Steinbrook (rsteinbrook@attglobal.net) is a national correspondent for the Journal.



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