Doctors Take Fewer Handouts From Pharmaceutical, Device Makers
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About four-fifths of U.S. doctors in a survey said they took gifts or money from drug and medical-device makers last year, a drop from 94 percent in 2004, after medical schools and hospitals adopted tougher rules.
Almost 84 percent of the 1,891 physicians participating in the survey told researchers they accepted items such as drug samples, tickets to cultural or sports events, and food and beverages in the workplace, according to a report today in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Doctors also had companies pick up meeting expenses or provide fees for speaking on behalf of a product or for consulting.