SUMMARY

Authors of a recent JAMA article recommend a ban on "gifts" from pharmaceutical companies to doctors. The authors -- "a group of influential doctors" from major academic medical centers -- claim that gifts pose challenges to the principles of medical professionalism. Pharma Marketing News hosted an online survey and a Pharma Marketing Expert Roundtable discussion on the topic of gifts to physicians. This article summarizes the findings of that survey and includes comments and insights from survey respondents and Roundtable members.

Topics covered include:

• JAMA Article Calls for Ban on Gifts
• Time to Ask the Experts -- Results from the Pharma Gifts to Physicians Survey
• Gifts with High Conflict Potential
• Ghosts in the Machine
• Speakers Bureaus Are on the Cusp
• Gifts with Low Conflict Potential
• Educational vs. Promotional Grants
• Drug Samples: The "Mere Ownership Effect"
• Greasing Access
• Culpability on the Other Side
• Suggestions for Change: Ethics and Best Practices