Massachusetts Medical Students Host Conflict-of-Interest Discussion

Nov. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- On Thursday, November 18, 2010, medical students from across Massachusetts will gather at Tufts University School of Medicine for, “Conflicts of Interest in Medicine and Medical Education.” Recent events have highlighted the importance of these issues in Massachusetts, including a failed attempt in August to repeal the statewide ban on industry gifts to physicians as well as Harvard’s implementation of a new, widely publicized conflict-of-interest policy. The event is part of National PharmFree Week, November 15-19, 2010.

Thousands of medical students from across the country will celebrate National PharmFree Week and call upon their schools to ban pharmaceutical marketing and conflicts of interest from their campuses. National PharmFree Week is sponsored by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation’s largest, independent medical student organization.

“AMSA wants to bring back the ‘evidence’ in evidence-based medicine,” says Chris Manz, AMSA PharmFree Campaign Chair and third year medical student at Duke University. “Our patients deserve the most effective care, which does not necessarily mean the newest or most expensive medicine.”

The event will be an open panel discussion and a Q&A session featuring:

•   Dr. Danny Carlat, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine
•   Dr. David Greenblatt, Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Director of the Clinical Pharmacology Program at Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center
•   Dr. Jerome Kassirer, Distinguished Professor and Senior Assistant to the Dean, Tufts University School of Medicine
•   Dr.  Michele Pugnaire, Senior Associate Dean for Educational Affairs, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Date:      Thursday, November 18, 2010

Time:      3 p.m.

Location:   
Tufts University School of Medicine
Sackler Auditorium
145 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02111

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Celebrating its 60th Anniversary, AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at www.amsa.org/.