Jim is quite right in drawing attention to the nexus between Unscrupulous doctors and Big Pharma.
Goanetters will surely remember that there are Goan doctors on this list (yours truly included) who do NOT accept any paid speaking engagements, trips, lunches or even trinkets (like pens) and samples from pharma companies. There has been debate about why doctors should turn down 'samples' when those could be useful for poor patients. I do not buy that. In any event, the health system, in the country I practice in, covers the medications for indigent patients. A new program has also been started to provide free medications for ALL patients with chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes and hypertension. These can be picked up even at private pharmacies. Coming back to the 'nexus' that Jim talks about, I'd venture to say that NO self-respecting and accomplished physician will ever sell his soul for the pieces of silver. ....and I can assure you that no (non-Goa based) GoaNet doctor who is involved in this debate is likely to be on any such "list". BUT ..... each person can speak for himself or herself. I am a full subscriber of the "No-Free-Lunches" movement. I do NOT accept anything from Pharma companies .... never will. And yes, if I do attend a pharma-sponsored lecture, I have my breakfast, lunch or dinner at home before or after the event. Now .... Goa and non-Goa based doctors can lay their practice and position on the table. It might be worth knowing that Pharma companies did not "publicise" the names of these unscrupulous doctors voluntarily. One of the first US State legislatures to enact legislation mandating this was Vermont http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2010/bills/Passed/S-048.pdf Now .... here are links you may have seen before from me. Do understand, this has zip to do with the transmission of Hoax information which we have seen in the past few days and the tireless and thankless effort by Santoshbab to correct it. I would have merely referred readers to Snopes.Com. Now ....some links which may be 7 years old No Free Lunch - Paul Jung http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/21/2/226 No More Free Lunches - Kamran Abbasi & Richard Smith http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7400/1155.extract Say no to the free lunch - Fiona Godlee http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7496/0.8.full NO FREE LUNCH http://www.nofreelunch-uk.org/ Happy reading jc On 19 October 2010 23:25, Jim Fernandes <[email protected]> wrote: I have been reading the debate on the nexus between big pharma and some of the physicians with much amusement. Well, a link provided below connects you to a database that you can search in to locate any doctor in the US by name (whether partial name, or first name or last name - it does not matter), the system will pull out his/her details along with how much money he/she received and why it was paid. The database was compiled by a non-profit named 'ProPublica' that claims to deal with stories of public interest. > > http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars >
