Professional Development


31 - AMA's rules on gifts
This guidance recognizes the benefits of gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, but that these must be made within certain ethical boundaries so as not to create undue influence or jeopardize the physician-patient relationship. According to these guidelines, physicians can accept gifts individually so long as they "entail a benefit to the patients" and are "not of substantial value" or are minimal and related to their work (pens, notepads). Funding of CME is permissible, but must be paid to the CME provider; no funds should go directly to the physician. Physicians should also not accept subsidies from industry directly or indirectly to pay for costs of travel, lodging or other personal expenses to attend conferences, or to compensate their time. Finally, "No gifts should be accepted if there are strings attached."