Would number 1 have prevented the statin and paxil fiascos,
for example? And the very idea of number 2 is laughable:
imagine some drug ho sitting in on your medical
consulation...
Medical group to debate firms' influence on doctors
By Lindsey Tanner Associated Press
CHICAGO - Drug companies' influence on medical research and
on doctors themselves will be under the microscope as the
nation's largest group of physicians gathers for its annual
meeting this week.
Proposals facing the American Medical Association include
1. ...a measure seeking to make all drug-study results
public, even unpublished research funded by
pharmaceutical companies that might reflect poorly on
their products.
The measure stems partly from concern over unpublished data
linking some antidepressants to suicidal behavior in
children. Government officials are investigating the
potential link.
2....Another measure would strengthen a policy the AMA
adopted last year on ``shadowing,'' the practice of drug-
company representatives sitting in on patients' visits
with their doctors.
Critics say the practice is an attempt to influence what
medicines are prescribed. Drug companies say the practice is
educational, but they sometimes pay hundreds of dollars a
day to the doctors for these visiting rights -- money the
new measure says doctors should refuse.