When physician-industry interactions go awry

This article was just published in the July 2006 supplement of the Journal of Pediatrics.

Kassirer JP.  When physician-industry interactions go awry. J Pediatr 2006 Jul;149(1S):S43-S46.

Financial connections between members of the profession and professional organizations and the pharmaceutical, device, and biotechnology industries are increasingly common and can lead to biased medical decision making, higher costs of care, and decline in the public’s trust of the profession. To preserve its reputation and its autonomy over medical decisions, the profession must begin to police itself.

This article is based on testimony delivered to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee (Subcommittee on Health; Hearings; Hearing on Value-Based Purchasing for Physicians under Medicare) on July 21, 2005. Read the full text of Dr. Kassirer’s testimony here.]

Journal link [full text by subscription only]; reprint requests: Dr Jerome P. Kassirer, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111.