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Professional Organizations and Healthcare Industry Support: Ethical Conflict?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2009

Thomas K. Hazlet
Affiliation:
Food and drug scientist with the California Department of Health Services' Food and Drug Branch and is Ethics Committee Chair for the California Society of Hospital Pharmacists
Sean D. Sullivan
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy and Health Services, University of Washington Schools of Pharmacy and Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle
Klaus M. Leisinger
Affiliation:
CIBA-GEIGY Foundation for Cooperation with Developing Countries, Basel, Switzerland
Laura Gardner
Affiliation:
Technology Assessment Group, Inc., in San Francisco
William E. Fassett
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Leadership & Policy Studies, College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle
Jon R. May
Affiliation:
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NAB)

Extract

A good deal of attention has been recently focused on the presumed advertising excesses of the healthcare industry in its promotion techniques to healthcare professionals, whether through offering gratuities such as gifts, honoraria, or travel support2-6 or through deception. Two basic concerns have been expressed: Does the acceptance of gratuities bias the recipient, tainting his or her responsibilities as the patient's agent? Does acceptance of the gratuity by the healthcare professional contribute to the high cost of healthcare products? The California Society of Hospital Pharmacists was recently asked by its members to formulate a policy for an appropriate relationship between the Society and the healthcare industry, addressing these concerns. In formulating its policy, it became clear that the Society depended on healthcare industry support, gathered through journal advertising, fees for booths at its various educational events, and grants for speakers.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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References

Notes

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