Drug companies loose while america wins!

In a groundbreaking report by the Boston Globe Harvard is restricting incentives from drug companies and medical device manufacturers. This is not the case with most medical schools and is definitely not the case with Drug reps who visit Medical offices. I have found myself amazed maybe even jealous at times when I go to visit my Medical colleagues and see how many gifts of food, stethoscopes, and pictures of them selves on paid vacations courtesy of a drug company. As Chiropractic physicians, we don't get any of these things because we do not sell drugs or medical devices. I look forward to where drugs and even health care is based not on who has the most money but on what is most effective.

Anyhow this is a wonderful thing to see as it does show a change to ensure that we will be getting more honest reporting about effective care.

"Harvard Medical School professors can no longer take industry money to speak for drug or medical device companies or accept gifts, travel or meals under a new conflict-of-interest policy released Wednesday.

The medical school also took steps to separate, but not ban, industry funding and industry exhibits from Harvard's post-graduate education classes."

The new rules will begin at the start of 2011 and will go a long way to keeping doctors from being used as marketers. Dr. Robert Mayer who is on the committee that wrote the policy stated, "We're anxious to be viewed publicly as doing what's in the best interest of our patients.''

I cannot tell you how happy that statement makes me.

Harvard will continue to allow there doctors to continue working with companies to bring further medical discoveries to the public. What is to change is having the doctors work as paid speakers as well as cap the amount of money they can be paid to $10,000 for clinical trial work.

I would like to say congrats to Harvard Medical School for increasing the transparency between doctors and drug companies.

All the best and I look forward to hearing about what you think regarding this article.

Dr. Mathew Stockstad is Asheville's Chiropractor for health and healing care.