The ethics of physicians-pharma interactions: More than just medical professionalism

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23047778

Med Care. 2012 Nov;50(11):910-912.

The Ethics of Drug Development and Promotion: The Need for a Wider View.

Brody H.

Source

*Institute for the Medical Humanities †Department of Family Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX.

Abstract

Ethical issues at the interface between the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry have generally been approached from the vantage point of medical professionalism, with a focus on conflict of interest as the key ethical concern. Although conflicts of interest remain important, other ethical issues may be obscured unless a wider perspective is adopted. Besides medical professionalism, the ethics of the clinical therapeutic relationship, ethics of public health, and business ethics all provide additional insights.