People Want to Know What Docs Are Taking

Americans think that doctors are influenced by drug companies and want to know about gifts given to their healthcare provider, according to a national survey by the non-profit Prescription Project. Over two-thirds of those surveyed would support legislation that would require drug companies to disclose gifts to doctors. But only about a third said that they would ask their physician about his or her relationships with the pharmaceutical industry. Two-thirds said that they would rather have experts with no ties to the drug companies give doctors information on drugs, as a hopefully more objective alternative to the current marketing-driven system. As CMD previously reported, the state of Massachusetts is considering legislation to ban perks given by drug companies to physicians.