Profession
Pa. hospital bans industry gifts
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 5, 2006
Starting July 1, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania will forbid physicians and residents from accepting drugmaker gifts such as meals, notepads and pens during office hours. In addition, drug reps will have to make appointments to visit physicians. The hospital will continue to accept grants from drugmakers, but only if they are unrestricted and if department heads have authority over how to spend the money.
The move comes on the heels of a Jan. 25 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association calling on academic medical centers to take a more aggressive role in limiting industry gifts to physicians, arguing that they create potential conflicts of interest for doctors.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/06/05/prbf0605.htm.