Conflicts of interest between the prescriber, the regulator and the profit maker.

The traditional, highly valued, clinical freedom of doctors is under threat with the development of evidence-based protocols. Contact with the pharmaceutical industry provides doctors with education and resource but at what cost? Government has failed to match the industry in this arena. Conflicts of interest arise when the balance between the information provided by these two bodies is uneven. Authorities' desire for impartial prescribing is not matched by their willingness to support the training and working practices which would deliver it.