Is there any evidence to support the public’s perception that accepting gifts could influence medical decision making?
Physicians endeavor to provide high quality health care to patients through evidence-based medicine. However, there are several studies that suggest that influence can occur at a subconscious level, despite a person’s integrity or high moral values. In the commentary, Everyone’s a Little Bit Biased (Even Physicians), published in JAMA, June 25, 2008, Vol. 299, No. 24, page 2893, the authors conclude that unintentional bias is a natural human phenomenon. A symposium on June 12, 2007, The Scientific Basis of Influence and Reciprocity: A Symposium, explored a number of issues that are imbedded in the acceptance of gifts, such as public perception, trust, the psychology of how the brain perceives influence and behavioral economics. The symposium articles suggest that removing the potential for bias resolves unintentional bias as well as the perception of bias that could impair physicians’ relationship with patients, legislators, regulators and others. A study published in the September, 20
