[Physicians and drug industry: attitudes and practice].

Area of Science:

• Medical Education and Professional Development
• Pharmaceutical Industry Relations
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• Limited understanding exists regarding how physicians perceive the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession.
• Assessing physician perspectives is crucial for understanding and potentially regulating industry influence in medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate Norwegian doctors' views on the pharmaceutical industry's role in their professional development.
• To explore how doctors perceive the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on medical practice and education.

Main Methods:

• A 2002 postal questionnaire survey was administered to a representative sample of 1606 Norwegian doctors.
• A response rate of 73% was achieved, providing a substantial dataset for analysis.

Main Results:

• 70% of doctors believed continued medical education requires pharmaceutical industry participation.
• 40% found the industry important for their own skill updates, while 52% acknowledged industry influence on doctors generally, though only 40% felt personally influenced.
• Specialists in internal medicine, surgery, and family medicine were more likely to accept industry sponsorship for travel and meetings; psychiatrists desired more regulation, and younger doctors were more skeptical than older colleagues.

Conclusions:

• Norwegian doctors perceive the pharmaceutical industry as vital for professional growth, posing challenges for regulation.
• A significant concern is that physicians likely underestimate the extent of the pharmaceutical industry's influence on their practice and decision-making.