Most Docs Say Pharma Ties Should Be Disclosed
February 9, 2012
Pharmalot
By Ed Silverman
In the midst of ongoing negative publicity and controversy over ties between the medical community and the pharmaceutical industry, a majority of physicians who were surveyed in 2009 reported that they completely agreed with the idea that financial relationships with drugmakers should be disclosed. To be specific, nearly 65 percent endorsed transparency.
However, there were some interesting wrinkles within this group. Physicians who attended med school in the US were significantly more likely than doctors who attended international medical schools to say that such relationships should be disclosed. Physicians who were in practice for the longest stretches also agreed with the notion and women were more likely than men to provide responses indicating disclosure should be made, according to a study published in Health Affairs (here is the abstract).