Implications of UPMC’s ethics policy far-reaching

A new conflicts-of-interest policy at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center aims to make doctors' decisions free from influence created by gifts or improper relationships with the drug or medical device industries. The policy bans gifts provided by industry representatives as they work to present information about their products at doctors' offices. The policy does not only target doctors--the policy directly applies to about 50,000 faculty, staff and students of the university's Schools of the Health Sciences and other professionals and staff employed or contracted by UPMC's U.S. operations.