Doctors should not be paid to promote drugs or medical devices by the makers of those products. When they accept such payments, they risk their credibility with patients, risk clouding their judgment, risk overusing a treatment and risk driving up the cost of medicine.
For months, Journal Sentinel reporters have uncovered blatant conflicts of interest involving drug and device makers at the University of Wisconsin. UW has tightened guidelines in recent months and plans to ban doctors from giving talks for drug companies about medications, the Journal Sentinelâ??s John Fauber reports. But despite all the revelations, UW officials risk doing too little.