Stanford bans gifts to physicians
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Effective Oct. 1, Stanford University Medical Center prohibits physicians from accepting gifts of any size - including pens, coffee mugs and drug samples - from medical device and pharmaceutical sales representatives under a policy aimed at limiting industry influence on patient care and physician education. The policy also forbids companies from paying for meals and bars sales reps from entering patient care areas. An additional provision mandates that all residents, trainees and staff be educated about conflicts of interest with industry. Several orthopedic and cardiac device companies were served promotion-related subpoenas last year (1"The Gray Sheet" Oct. 31, 2005, p. 3)...