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Oversight Of Marketing Relationships Between Physicians And The Drug And Device Industry: A Comparative Study, Timothy Stoltzfus Jost

Timothy S. Jost

Throughout the world, complex mutually-dependent relationships exist between physicians and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. This articlef ocuses on one particulara spect of these relationships--paymentsm ade by drug and device companies to physicians and their organizations and institutions to market drugs and devices. It is widely believed that drug and device company marketing to physicians creates conflicts of interest that corrupt physician judgment and increase the cost of medical care. This article examines first the economic basis of physician/industry relationships that causes conflicts to arise. It next considers the measures that a number of developed countries have taken to respond …