Relação indústria farmacêutica e médicos

The New England Journal of Medicine (acesso gratuito) publica artigo sobre a relação indústria farmacêutica e médicos. Na figura há

apresentação dos relacionamentos mais descritos como amostras grátis, presentes etc etc.

O texto apresenta duas considerações bem válidas do lado positivo e negativo:

Clearly, relationships between physicians and industry can have some positive effects on patient care. Many, if not all, of the drugs currently on the market simply wouldn't exist if it weren't for relationships whereby physicians enroll patients in manufacturers' clinical trials and provide companies with advice on drug development. And even a relationship in the form of attendance at an industry-sponsored luncheon or dinner may lead physicians to recommend beneficial drugs that are being underprescribed — though there is no reason why an educational activity needs to be accompanied by an expensive meal or a trip to a tropical resort. But physician–industry relationships can also have serious negative effects. For example, doctors with ties to industry may be more inclined than their colleagues to prescribe a brand-name drug despite the availability of a cheaper generic version. The provision of free samples may reinforce this behavior and perhaps stimulate off-label use of medications, which can pose risks for some patients. Industry relationships may stimulate the premature adoption of novel treatments, which could lead to serious health problems for patients. Industry inducements may reduce physician adherence to evidence-based practice guidelines in favor of company medications or interventions that are not recommended in independently developed guidelines. Finally, the financial rewards from industry relationships may reinforce a culture of entitlement among physicians, which could limit their ability to honestly acknowledge and manage the potential negative effects of these relationships. In general, physicians vehemently deny that their industry relationships have any of these negative effects — but they are less convinced that the same is true of their physician colleagues.