Getting hospital administrators to reject formula companies'
freebies might be helped by expose of the AMA's own lack of
ethics.
Judy Ritchie

http://search.tribnet.com/archive/archive30/0830a61.html

AMA uses drug company money to fight drug company gifts

ETHICS: Medical group says doctors shouldn't be accepting
'freebies'

August 30, 2001

Lindsey Tanner; The Associated Press

CHICAGO - The American Medical Association is spending a big
chunk of drug-company money to tell doctors not to accept
large gifts from drug companies in a campaign that critics
say smacks of hypocrisy.

The AMA is contributing about $400,000 to the $1 million
effort, but most of the balance comes from payments between
$50,000 and $100,000 from nine major drug companies.

The AMA says it makes sense to involve the industry in a
campaign that's also designed to inform drug makers about what
is considered unethical behavior. But critics question that
logic.

"How can anyone believe that they're engaging in some kind of
campaign to fight the perception of unethical behavior by
engaging in unethical behavior?" Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director
of the consumer-oriented Public Citizen Health Research
Group, said Wednesday. "It's just outrageous."

Some medical ethicists agree.

"It's symbolically endorsing the very behavior that they're
trying to caution against," said Dr. John Lantos, associate
director of the University of Chicago's MacLean Center for
Clinical Medical Ethics.

At issue are the myriad freebies, ranging from pens and
notepads to free dinners and trips, that some drug makers
shower on doctors. Ethicists say the gifts could encourage
doctors to prescribe medications that may not be in patients'
best interests.

"Overall they spend billions of dollars trying to influence
physicians' prescribing behavior, and it works," Lantos said.

AMA policy suggests a limit of about $100 on such gifts and
says they should not include things like free trips, hotel
accommodations and other personal expenses for doctors
attending conferences. Things like work-related pens and
notepads are considered acceptable.

"Any gifts accepted by physicians individually should
primarily entail a benefit to patients and should not be
of substantial value," the policy says.

Dr. Randolph Smoak, the AMA's immediate past president,
said the campaign was prompted in part by concern that many
younger doctors may be unaware of the decade-old policy.

"We're attempting to not only re-educate physicians but also
the marketing forces," Smoak said, "so that all those people
understand the rules of engagement."

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America,
a trade group for most of the nation's brand-name prescription
drug makers, supports the policy but believes "it is entirely
appropriate to educate physicians about new treatments,"
spokeswoman Jackie Cottrell said.

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html