http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Catie/Where%20We%20Live%2005-02-2012.mp3
As the business of health care continues to boom, the drumbeat against so-called "conflicts of interest" in medicine has gotten louder.
A national debate’s been cooking about the close relationship between money and medicine. How is that relationship affecting patient care? Can doctors make the right decisions when they’re inundated with sales representatives from pharmaceutical and medical device companies?
Today, where we live, we’ll talk ask doctors what kind of contact they have with these companies, and whether that contact affects the medical decisions they make.
We’ll hear from a reporter at Propublica who’s investigated this issue, and we’ll also hear from a lawyer about safeguards currently in place that try and prevent biased research and medical decisions.