The Stanford University Medical Center plans to follow the lead of Yale University and University of Pennsylvania in refusing freebies (pens, meals, sample drugs, football tickets, etc. ..) from pharmaceutical sales representatives.
The purpose is to limit the industry/representative's influence on patient care and doctor education.
Additionally, the research centers want the public to know/think that what comes out of their research center is not tainted in any way (as much as is possible) by any outside source.
Doctors will no longer accept free meals, published articles written by ghost writers in the pharm industry or any other perk.
The costs or loss in benefits will be in the millions. Now the universities have to feed their profs/doctors and the pharmaceutical companies suddenly have big expense budgets and nothing to spend it on.
In any event, it seems reasonable to me that the school research labs separate themselves from such influences. However, chances are the money of the pharm industry will be applied to doctor's in private practices.
What do you think?
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