May 26, 2011

The more medical students are exposed to pharma marketing, the more they like it and deny its influence

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conflicts of interest, drug industry influence, medical education

The editors of PLoS Medicine conclude that a new Harvard analysis published in their journal:

“…shows that (medical) students are frequently exposed to pharmaceutical marketing, even in the preclinical years, and that the extent of students’ contact with industry is generally associated with positive attitudes about marketing and skepticism towards any negative implications of interactions with industry. Therefore, strategies to educate students about interactions with the pharmaceutical industry should directly address widely held misconceptions about the effects of marketing and other biases that can emerge from industry interactions. But education alone may be insufficient. Institutional policies, such as rules regulating industry interactions, can play an important role in shaping students’ attitudes, and interventions that decrease students’ contact with industry and eliminate gifts may have a positive effect on building the skills that evidence-based medical practice requires. These changes can help cultivate strong professional values and instill in students a respect for scientific principles and critical evidence review that will later inform clinical decision-making and prescribing practices.”

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