EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
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Dr. Lane, Dr. Olson, and Mr. Mazzo feel that it is important to educate the public about the productive relationships that bring new products to the market and that physicians and industry should continue to lobby for their right to work together. "If we want to make a difference, we have got to work together," Dr. Olson said. "Frankly I think we've got to work together even more—not less—and we need to be smarter about how we work together." Physician/industry relationships also need to be conducted in a positive, patient-centered man- ner. According to Mr. Mazzo, good science, educated industry repre- sentatives, and events that provide technical educational benefits to physicians are key. "Good science always trumps everything," he said. EW Reference Tabas JA, Boscardin C, Jacobsen DM, Steinman MA, Volberding PA, Baron RB. Clinician attitudes about commercial support of continuing medical education: results of a detailed survey. Arch Intern Med. 2011 May 9;171(9):840–6. Editors' note: Dr. Lane, Dr. Olson, and Mr. Mazzo have no financial interests related to their comments. Contact information Lane: sslane@AssociatedEyeCare.com Mazzo: jmazzo@acufocus.com Olson: randallj.olson@hsc.utah.edu no consensus in the medical com- munity when it comes to banning gifts entirely. Organizations such as the National Physicians Alliance and the American Medical Student Association advocate for completely eliminating financial relationships with industry, while others, such as the Association of Clinical Research- ers and Educators, defend industry/ physician collaboration. The federal government has not yet made efforts to ban all gifts to physicians, and with medical societies lobbying on both sides of the issue, it is difficult to predict which way regulations will go in the future. The big picture Physician/industry collaboration provides patients with life-saving medicines and devices, and financial compensation is a critical aspect of this relationship. Physicians and industry, as the key players in this dynamic, are aware of this fact, but the general public may not be. "If you're involved in develop- ment and you're trying to make a difference, in regard to getting some- thing into the hands of patients and into the hands of physicians to get to patients, that means you have to work with industry," Dr. Olson said. "So if you're saying that doctors should not work with industry, what you're saying is, 'I don't believe we should ever have new products in the hands of patients.'" "If we want to make a difference, we have got to work together. Frankly I think we've got to work together even more—not less— and we need to be smarter about how we work together." –Randall Olson, MD