A recent study found that about 35 percent of physicians do not completely agree that they should tell patients about their financial relationships with drug and medical device companies, according to Medscape Today News.
The study, published in the February issue of Health Affairs, drew on a 2009 survey of almost 1900 physicians.
The article quotes medical ethicist Linda Emanuel, MD, PhD, of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, as saying: “We need to do some serious interventions to return to our ethical values.”
Potential conflicts-of-interest between medical professionals and drug companies have been a factor in the ongoing controversy about the marketing of Beyaz and other birth control pills containing the synthetic hormone drospirenone.
According to the National Research Center for Women and Families, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reviewed six studies in recent years to determine whether the risks of blood clots are higher with oral contraceptives containing drospirenone.
Four studies, as well as an additional study that the FDA funded, indicated that the drospirenone pills do carry a substantially higher risk.
Two other studies showed no higher risks, but the authors of those studies turned out to have financial and professional ties to the pill manufacturer and employed faulty methods, according to the National Research Center.
And in December, an FDA panel voted 15 to 11 to keep the pills with drospirenone on the market after deciding that the benefits outweigh the risks. Later, at least four of those members turned out to have professional or financial ties to Bayer, the company that manufactures Beyaz.
If you or someone you love has suffered an injury as a result of taking Beyaz, Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella or other contraceptives containing drospirenone, you may be eligible to recover damages. Contact Lopez McHugh for a free case evaluation.
