Managing pharmaceutical sales activities in an academic anesthesiology department.
To contain costs, departments of anesthesiology must control the use of new, expensive drugs. Conflicts with pharmaceutical companies can arise when they promote drug sales. Pharmaceutical company sales represent anesthesiology department expenses. Anesthesiologists hold diverse opinions on this clash of interests, on the proper roles of pharmaceutical sales representatives in anesthesiology departments, and on the ethics of accepting industry gifts. Our department has managed pharmaceutical sales activities by encouraging discussion of the ethics and legal limits of industry gifts, by banning sales representatives from bringing food into the department, and by adopting The American Medical Association Guidelines on Gifts.
Department of Anesthesiology, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-9134, USA.
R E
RE
Johnstone
R C
RC
Valenzuela
D
D
Sullivan
D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000191:economics*; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000191:economics* / Q000193:education; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000191:economics*; D003363:Cost Control; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000191:economics*; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000191:economics*
D000777:Anesthetics