DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENCY PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR INTERACTION WITH THE PHARMACEUTICAL-INDUSTRY

Medical residency programs are likely to face increasing pressure to a ddress their relations with the pharmaceutical industry. Our internal medicine residency program has developed guidelines that were adopted after extensive debate by residents and faculty members. The guideline s are based on the principles that residents and faculty should set th e educational agenda and that the residency program should not allow g ifts of any sort from industry to residents. Specific policies include obtaining and screening educational materials from the industry befor e residents are exposed to them, proscribing ''drug lunches'' and acce pting industry sponsorship only when the residency program maintains c omplete control of the educational event being sponsored. The industry response to the guidelines was split; about half reacted negatively, and half found the guidelines acceptable. Our experience suggests that productive debate about guidelines for the interaction of residency p rograms with the pharmaceutical industry is possible and desirable and that explicit policies can clarify areas of ambiguity.