Last fall, I told you about the barrage of “gifts” medical students receive on a weekly basis from the mega-drug companies, and how 80 percent of them believe they are entitled to have them. Thank goodness, some young physicians don’t see it that way, according to this awesome story in the Chicago Tribune.
The article profiles a handful of Chicagoland doctors who have declared themselves “Pharm-free” by refusing to accept gifts, marketing trinkets (in the form of office supplies), consulting fees and free drugs. Their goal: Eliminating the conflicts of interest that corrupt the practice of conventional medicine and make health care less effective and more costly.
Of course, entities like the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) don’t see it that way. In fact, PhMRA believes this small group of doctors who don’t take handouts from drug reps are doing a disservice to their patients and denies tangible benefits to the patients they serve.
Sounds exactly like the kind of nonsense I fight daily to transform the fatally-flawed conventional health paradigm focused on one-pill cures and needless treatments to a safer, healthier model that emphasizes care, treatment and the prevention of the underlying causes of disease.
Chicago Tribune March 12, 2006 Registration Required