Physician-medical manufacturing industry relationships: Perceptions of medical students.

Abstract

Background Physicians and the medical manufacturing industry (MMI) are closely associated and may have some form of financial or business arrangement. Research has highlighted that these interactions negatively impact physicians' prescribing behaviour. We tried to explore medical students' perspectives regarding these interactions. Methods We did a questionnaire-based survey to capture the demographic information and included five yes-or-no questions with two possible answers that probed the participants' awareness. Statements (26 Likert-style questions) describing various physician-industry interactions were formulated based on previous research. Excel was used to gather the data, and SPSS v 25.0® for Windows was used to analyse it. Frequencies and percentages (qualitative variables) and means and standard deviations were used to present descriptive statistics (quantitative variables). The associations between the independent variables and awareness were examined using chi-square test. Results About 40% of students knew doctors and MMI work together, but only 6% knew there were rules about accepting gifts from MMI. Eighty-four per cent of respondents felt free samples from MMI were an excellent way to learn about new products. The prevalence of awareness was higher in interns/housemen (51.6%) compared to medical students (35.9%). Most (43%) of the participants preferred an online database as a method of disclosure. Conclusions Our findings indicated students' knowledge gaps regarding ethical considerations and recommended guidelines regarding the relational dynamics of medical practitioners and MMI. Students should be taught appropriate conduct and best practices and must strive to develop skepticism towards MMI marketing claims. This may be achieved by implementing various educational interventions in the medical curriculum.