This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Conflict of Interest  • Medical Ethics  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: In response to the article by Mr Dana and Dr Loewenstein,¹ I believe practicing physicians are the true drug company representatives. We are the ones who interface with the drug company customer (ie, the patient). We hear complaints about the costs of their medications and all of their adverse effects. We assist them in compiling records of adverse effects. We therefore provide the pharmaceutical industry with a valuable service.

When my colleagues or I inquire about receiving support from pharmaceutical companies to attend medical conferences, we are told that this is not allowed. We are similarly told that they cannot provide medical texts due to government regulations. While it is unlikely that every statute has been reviewed, the overall theme of these statutes, as I understand them, is that pharmaceutical company support of educational endeavors is not only allowed, but encouraged as long as it is nonbiased. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Louis Bergeron, MD
Pioneer Urgent Care
Elko, Nev

RELATED ARTICLES

Psychological Aspects of Gifts From Drug Companies
Dana Katz, Peter Mansfield, Robert Goodman, Leonore Tiefer, and Jon Merz
JAMA. 2003;290(18):2404-2405.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychological Aspects of Gifts From Drug Companies
Michael S. Goldrich
JAMA. 2003;290(18):2405.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychological Aspects of Gifts From Drug Companies
Gary A. Tarshis
JAMA. 2003;290(18):2405.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychological Aspects of Gifts From Drug Companies
Michael Tansey
JAMA. 2003;290(18):2405-2406.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychological Aspects of Gifts From Drug Companies
Chris McCoy and Lauren Oshman
JAMA. 2003;290(18):2406.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychological Aspects of Gifts From Drug Companies—Reply
Jason Dana and George Loewenstein
JAMA. 2003;290(18):2406-2407.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Social Science Perspective on Gifts to Physicians From Industry
Jason Dana and George Loewenstein
JAMA. 2003;290(2):252-255.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT