The medical school at Johns Hopkins University announced a two-stage policy of banning gifts to doctors and ending drug samples for patients. The announcement acknowledged
"Industry influence may be subtle, and health care providers often are not aware of the extent to which their judgment may be influenced when they depend on industry to support educational activities or provide drug samples.even small gifts imply reciprocity and that in recent years."
Johns Hopkins joins Harvard, which announced a similar policy for two of its hospitals last week.Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Stanford University are among those restricting contact with drug companies.
