Financial Conflicts of Interest in Physicians' Relationships with the Pharmaceutical Industry — Self-Regulation in the Shadow of Federal Prosecution

Studdert et al. describe recent efforts by the federal government and professional organizations to tighten the regulation of financial associations between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. Payments to doctors (including gifts and consulting fees) by drug companies are violations of the federal anti-kickback law if the payments have the potential to increase the recipients' prescriptions for the companies' products. The Office of the Inspector General, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and physicians' organizations have issued guidelines prohibiting many types of financial relationships that have been common.