Ethical problems of physicians in relationship with pharmaceutical representatives in denizli, Turkey

Abstract

To determine the presence and the kind of the problems in the relationship between pharmaceutical representatives and the physicians, a study based on a questionnaire had been planned. Two hundred and twenty nine physicians who were working in the formal institutions of Denizli City Center were included in the study and were asked to complete the questionnaire. According to results of the study; 48% of the physicians were visited by the pharmaceutical representatives at least once a day and some ethical problems belonging to these encounters were described by 81.2% of the physicians. The frequently determined ethical problems were in descending order: prescription according to some profits, gifts besides the pharmaceutical products, inappropriate period and timing of encounters, and discrimination of the physicians. Among the other problems the following were mentioned: neglegting the patients' privacy and absence of the respectfulness. When searching for the origin of these ethical problems, pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical representatives, and hospitals constituted the leading causes. The study adressed and evaluated ethical problems in the relationship of pharmaceutical representatives. Copyright Internet Science Publications, LLC, 1996 to 2007.