Happy New Year! Starting today, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has issued a voluntary ban on branded pens, mugs and other promotional items to physicians and physicians' offices. So no more pens, clipboards, stethoscope tags, clocks and more advertising the latest, newest, or most marked drugs. Some advocates have criticized the ban, saying it doesn't go far enough. They say the pens and mugs are not the problem, but rather the entangled relationship between big pharma and physicians that blurs the line between education and advocating for expensive, profitable drugs. Others say the ban is a positive start and will remove a potential improper influence in prescribing, and from the patient perspective, remove the appearance that physicians are unduly biased or even sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.
You can find the article here.
And here you can find one physician's blog documenting all the fun products he has received from pharmaceutical reps. Starting today, he won't have more to add to his collection.
So what do you think? What does the ban accomplish? What else do you think could or should be done to more clearly delineate the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and physicians?
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