Mais uma razão para evitarmos dinheiro da indústria: compromete também a confiança dos pacientes.

ProPublica and Consumer Reports carried out a survey investigating patients’ perspectives regarding physicians who accept PhRMA payments. The survey indicates that patients are largely unaware of the nature of physician/PhRMA contacts, and 74% of survey respondents disapprove of physicians taking payments for promoting medications to other physicians. Furthermore, 95% of respondents noted that their physicians had not disclosed any PhRMA payments, and 70% thought that physicians should disclose that information (a legal requirement coming soon thanks to the Physician Payments Sunshine Act provisions included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). Finally, the survey shows that a majority (51%) of respondents felt that payments as low as $500 could influence a physician’s judgment.

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