In our last column (PharmaGenomics 4[1], 16–19 [2004]), we began to explore the shift to a broader-than-diagnostic view of the value of imaging technologies. It stands to reason that imaging should play some broader role. After all, as Robert Dunkle reports in a recent article, “Up to 70% of the experiments in pharmaceutical research and development result in an image as an output” (1). Of cour...

IMPORTANCE Medical communication companies (MCCs) are among the most significant health care stakeholders, supported mainly by drug and device companies. How MCCs share or protect physicians' personal data requires greater transparency. OBJECTIVE To explore the financial relationships between MCCs and drug and device companies, to describe the characteristics of the large MCCs, and to explore...

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging and therapy, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology, and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to trea...

BACKGROUND Medical schools have a major impact on future doctors' ethics and their attitudes towards cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry. From childhood, medical students who are related to a physician are exposed to the characteristics of a medical career and learn its professional ethics not only in school but also in the family setting. The present paper sought to answer the researc...

INTRODUCTION Medical talks, newsletter circulars, scientific meetings and conferences, and interaction with members of the pharmaceutical industry, have become convenient means of carrying out continuing medical education (CME) for many busy doctors. MATERIALS AND METHODS To study the perceived importance of these various CME activities, a self-completed posted questionnaire survey was conduc...

Medical tourism plays an important role in national revenue of many countries; This industry earns about 100 billion dollars for the governments each year. However, Tourism is not developed in Iran and it is in its initial paces. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Health recognized tourism-therapy in 2003. In addition, by doing this, rather than supporting tourism-therapy, the ministry mainly...

Background: Clinical research is a specific phase of the production process in the pharmaceutical industry in which companies test candidate drugs on patients in order to collect clinical evidence about safety and effectiveness.Objective: This paper is an operational research which aimed to support the hypothesis that pharmaceutical clinical research is l...