Senators Push for Pharmaceutical Industry Gift Registry

Two US Senators say they will support legislation to create a record of gifts given to doctors by makers of drugs and medical devices.

The announcement by Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, and Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, came during a Congressional hearing on drug industry gifts. Activists and public health experts say that the $19 billion stream of drug samples, free meals and speaking fees compromises the integrity of caregivers.

Ms. McCaskill said the Senate was in the process of adopting ethics legislation that would bar senators from accepting meals from lobbyists. And any gifts or payments to senators must be recorded, she said.

“And if it’s good for Congress,” she said later in an interview, “it’s good for the medical profession in terms of cleaning up all this lobbying — because that’s what it is.”

An industry representative quoted in the New York Times article said that similar state efforts were derailed by the "complexities" of deciding whether free drug samples were really gifts.

This, quite frankly, seems like very shaky grounds for opposition.
Conflicts of interest aren't always as bad as they seem -- but if the practice is really as harmless as the industry says, why not be open about it? Doing so would certainly go a long way towards restoring public trust in doctors and drugmakers alike.

Senators to Push for Registry of Drug Makers’ Gifts to Doctors [New York Times]

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