Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Medical schools urge limits to drug makers' influence on students

From CBC News:
There may soon be no more free lunches — or fridges to store them in — in the student lounges of Canadian medical schools.

No talks given by physicians' experts paid handsomely by pharmaceutical companies. Or unsupervised meetings with drug reps.

The association that represents Canada's medical schools announced Tuesday it is endorsing the principles that lie at the core of rules such as these introduced by its American counterpart earlier this year.

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada said the aim is to limit the influence the pharmaceutical industry has on medical students and residents and assuage the public's concerns about the perceived cosiness between medical schools and drug makers.

"There's no question that the environment within which you're trained will have some sort of impact on the way you perceive these issues," Irving Gold, the association's vice-president of government relations and external affairs, said from Ottawa. ...more

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