Appropriateness of collaborations between industry and the medical profession: physicians' perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Physicians' ratings of the appropriateness of collaboration and of receiving payment for collaboration with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries may differ.
METHODS: We administered an anonymous, cross-sectional survey to a convenience sample of faculty and postgraduate physicians from all departments within the 11 hospitals affiliated with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and New Jersey. We examined 12 collaborations with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries using 4-point Likert scales, ranging from very appropriate to very inappropriate.
RESULTS: Surveys were distributed to physicians within 35 departments at 11 hospitals; 590 surveys were completed by physicians at 9 hospitals, yielding a 67% response rate. Physicians' assessment of appropriateness varied among the different collaborations, ranging from nearly all rating developing a drug or device (92%) and designing a drug/device trial (91%) as appropriate to fewer rating preparing a manuscript of a drug/device trial (60%) and recruiting patients for a drug/device trial (65%) as appropriate for physicians not involved in trial design. Physicians consistently rated receiving payment for collaboration as appropriate less often than they rated the collaboration itself as appropriate and ratings varied among the collaborations. For example, 81% rated receiving payment to develop a drug or device as appropriate, whereas 38% rated receiving payment to recruit patients for a drug/device trial when the physician was not involved in trial design as appropriate.
CONCLUSIONS: Physicians' broadly perceived most collaboration with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, and of receiving payment for collaboration, as appropriate.