[Who pays the "dangerous liaisons" between doctors and industry?]

The problem regarding the influence that industry may exert on physicians through various types of payments is not of exclusively ethical nature, but has also important practical implications. Using money, industry may distort prescribing habits in favor of their own products, generally more costly, but not always more effective or better tolerated. Moreover, industry is interested in increasing the number of people to whom their products could be prescribed, thus widening the market. If physicians do not oppose these enticements, the patients and the citizens' tax funded National Health Service will pay the bill. In fact, any largesse from the Sales & Marketing divisions of pharmaceutical industries is paid, indirectly and via major financial returns related to an increase in prescriptions, by citizens. In USA this is now demonstrated with the analysis of the first data on transfers of money from industry to physicians made publicly available after the implementation of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act.