About Us Portfolio Press Careers Sitemap Advertise Contact Us Make this your Homepage

Custom Search

Register

Sign In

Sign In Using Facebook

Home » Hospital News

US Hospitals Ban Gifts to Doctors from Drug Industry

January 20, 2008 at 3:02 PM Hospital News

Many medical service providers in the US have started banning doctors from accepting gifts from drug manufacturers.

Someone had to do crack the whip to try and break the unholy nexus between the drug industry and the doctors. Some US hospital chains have started doing so.

Related Links

When a Duluth-based operator of hospitals and clinics purged the pens, notepads, coffee mugs and other promotional trinkets drug companies had given its doctors over the years, it took 20 shopping carts to haul the loot away.

The operator, SMDC Health System, intends to ship the 18,718 items to the west African nation of Cameroon.

The purge underscored SMDC's decision to join the growing movement to ban gifts to doctors from drug companies.

A couple of years ago the Journal of the American Medical Association said research had shown that even cheap gifts, such as pens, could affect doctors' prescribing decisions.

It is to counter such undesirable trends that the Pew Charitable Trusts floated the Prescription Project, which is now gathering steam.

SMDC scoured its four hospitals and 17 clinics across northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin for clipboards, clocks, mouse pads, stuffed animals and other items decorated with logos for such drugs as Nexium, Vytorin and Lipitor.

Trinkets, free samples, free food and drinks, free trips and other gifts have pervaded the medical profession, but observers say that's starting to change.

"We just decided for a lot of reasons we didn't want to do that any longer," Dr. Kenneth Irons, chief of community clinics for SMDC, told news agency AP.

Page 1

Page 1 | 2

Next

Divert AIDS Funds to Basic Health Issues, Some Experts Suggest

Meet the Surrogate Mother of Eight Babies With No Children of Her Own

More News on: Drug Toxicity, Eradicate Quackery, Save Lives, Layman�s Guide to Understanding Medical Specialists, Signature Drug Toxicity

Comment & Contribute

Be the first to comment!
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters
	Notify me when reply is posted I agree to the terms and conditions
Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished. Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

Medwonders Health Network

Support Groups Members Discussions

Total Members - 54848
Support Groups - 445

Health News Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Latest News Most Popular Most Commented

C-Sections may be Harmful for Premature Babies

Breast Cancer and Pregnancy: New Research

European Psychologists Voice Concerns Over New DSM Criteria

Bouncing �Rubber Eggs� Hit China Markets

Video-Based Home Exercise Able to Ease Osteoarthritis Pain and Perk Up Mobility

News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :

News Quick Links

	News Central			Health Watch
	Latest Health News			Health In Focus
	News Category (500+)			Breaking Health News
	Popular News			Celebrating Life
	Health News and Press Release			Medindia - Exclusive
	News Photo Gallery			India Special
	News Video Gallery			Lifestyle and Wellness
	News From Other Resources

News Categories:


»	Breast Cancer and Pregnancy: New Research

»	Fasting Weakens Cancer in Mice

»	Key to Personalized Cancer Therapy - Metabolic Profiles

»	Breast Cancer Death Risk Higher Among Older Patients

»	Role of Zinc in Breast Cancer Treatment
More Cancer News

Hospital Related News
»	Drugs Factory Sealed by Pakistan After Deaths	»	Weekend Admission to Hospital Increases the Chances of Death
»	Hospitals Must Strive Hard Towards Maintaining Quality Emergency Departments	»	Inquests Highly Probable for Younger People and Demise from Medical Care Complications
»	Leading Cause of Infection Outbreaks in US Hospitals - Norovirus	»	Expert Roundtable Discusses Opportunities and Challenges of Palliative Care in the ICU
»	CT Scans for Dizziness in the ER may Not be Necessary	»	Quality of Colonoscopy Reporting Assessed in New Study

Read More >>

Accident and Trauma Care Support Group	Acupuncture Support Group	Albinism / Hypopigmentation / Albinos Support Group
Alcohol abuse / Alcohol dependence / Alcoholism Support Group	Aromatherapy Support Group	Avian Influenza / Bird Flu Support Group
Ayurveda Support Group	Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Support Group	Birth Defects - Metabolic Defects Support Group

US Hospitals Ban Gifts to Doctors from Drug Industry

Medwonders Health Network

Hospital Related News

Consumers

Medical Professionals

Medical Students

Directories