It’s pretty clear that the good old days of detailing prescribing physicians with freebies are gone. Lavish golf trips and expensive meals have gone the way of the dinosaurs (for the most part), and it looks like even more change is likely to come. The Wisconsin Medical Society and it’s 12,000 plus members have sworn off pharmaceutical freebies altogether. The WMS has adopted an ethical policy prohibiting its members from accepting “gifts from any provider of products that they prescribe to their patients such as personal items, office supplies, food, travel and time costs, or payment for participation in online CME.” This is yet another indication of the shift away from traditional pharmaceutical detailing and we should likely not be surprised to see other medical societies and physician groups following the WMS’ lead.
