Amid increased controversy over pharmaceutical marketing, a follow-up study of physician attitudes found that doctors are more likely to strongly agree that trust in medicine is threatened by interactions with industry representatives, but that physicians can also receive more useful information this way.
Specifically, in 2011, about 61% of doctors agreed that interacting with sales reps eroded public trust. A follow-up survey of nearly 300 of the same physicians found a nearly identical proportion continue to hold that view. However, the subset that “strongly” agreed with that view nearly tripled from the previous survey, rising to 14.5% from 5%, according to an analysis published in the JAMA Health Forum.
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At the same time however, fewer doctors believe accepting gifts under $50 from drug companies is problematic. Last year, 51% indicated they had no issue with the practice, up from 46% in 2011. Fewer doctors also had qualms about being paid by a drug company to speak about a medicine and also lecture medical students about the same product — 51% were unbothered last year, up from 44% in 2011.