• A G Mainous, W J Hueston, and E C Rich.
• Department of Family Practice, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA.
• Arch Fam Med. 1995 Apr 1; 4 (4): 335-9.

ObjectiveTo examine patient perceptions of professional appropriateness and the potential impact on health care of physician acceptance of gifts from the pharmaceutical industry.DesignA random-digit dialing telephone survey.Setting And ParticipantsA sample of 649 adults (> or = 18 years old) living in Kentucky.Main Outcome MeasuresPatient awareness of office-use gifts (eg, pens, notepads) and personal gifts to physicians from the pharmaceutical industry, patient exposure to office-use gifts, and attitudes toward physician acceptance of both office-use and personal gifts.ResultsThe survey had a response rate of 55%. Eighty-two percent of the respondents were aware that physicians received office-use gifts, while 32% were aware that physicians received personal gifts. Seventy-five percent reported receiving free samples of medication from their physicians. Compared with office-use gifts, more respondents believed that personal gifts to physicians have a negative effect on both health care cost (42% vs 26%) and quality (23% vs 13%). After controlling for demographic variables, as well as awareness and exposure to physician gifts, individuals with at least a high school education were 2.4 times as likely to believe that personal gifts have a negative effect on the cost of health care and 2.3 times as likely to believe that personal gifts would have a negative effect on the quality of health care.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the public is generally uninformed about personal gifts from pharmaceutical companies to physicians. If public perception regarding the objectivity of the medical profession is to serve as a guide, these findings suggest a reevaluation may be in order for guidelines regarding physician acceptance of gifts from the pharmaceutical industry.

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