Drug companies are the biggest sponsors of continuing medical education courses, and experts are calling courses even at the nation’s top medical schools “nothing more than infomercials.”

Among continuing education courses sponsored by medical schools, nearly two-thirds of the costs are paid for by drug and medical device companies and other commercial interests. These commercial sponsors foot the bill for half of the $2.25 billion yearly cost for the courses -- which doctors must attend to keep their licenses.

Meanwhile, no one, including the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, is checking course materials to make sure they’re accurate and unbiased. Not surprisingly, sponsors are even able to select topics and encourage off-label uses for drugs.

To get an idea of just how pervasive these promotions are, the Washington Post article pointed out a 2006 meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Toronto.

Physicians who were acting as instructors voluntarily disclosed their ties to the drug industry -- and their extensive relationships took up 14 pages. Some of the instructors were even sponsored by more than a dozen companies!

The bottom line is that there’s a very good chance that your doctor is being literally paid off by the drug industry. And doctors are not the only ones. The FDA and Congress are also notorious for their ties to the industry.

So when it comes time for you to make a decision about your health, realize that it is ultimately up to you -- not your doctor, the FDA or the government -- to decide what’s best.

WashingtonPost.com June 27, 2007