The University of California, San Diego, received a B grade in a new report that evaluates how far medical schools go to limit the influence of pharmaceutical companies.
Published by the American Medical Student Association, the PharmFree Scorecard ranks schools based on policies that restrict the ability of drug manufacturers to give doctors free goodies, including expensive trips, and to treat them to fancy meals. Critics say these treats amount to bribes to induce them to prescribe specific drugs.
Though the scorecard credited the UCSD Medical Center for having a policy that restricted companies’ access to its hospitals, it faulted the university for not extending these restrictions to the medical school itself and to the medical students.
Only five medical schools from across the country received the top A grade, including Stanford University and UC Davis. Two other UC schools, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, received Cs because they are still in the process of drafting their policies.