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AAFP Statement: AAFP Congratulates PhRMA on Promoting Industry Responsibility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 02, 2002

Statement attributable to:
Warren A. Jones, M.D.
President, AAFP

“As president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, I would like to congratulate the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America for putting forth guidelines on gifts to physicians. We applaud their efforts to address this issue.

“The AAFP accepts the AMA’s Principles of Medical Ethics as our ethical guidelines on what gifts physicians should accept from industry. It is heartening to see PhRMA promoting industry responsibility with its Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals.

“As a physician, my primary responsibility is to patients. I monitor my interactions with pharmaceutical companies with this in mind. PhRMA’s new code promotes their understanding of appropriate interactions by stating, ‘Interaction should focus on informing the healthcare professional…to maximize patient benefits.’

“By keeping patients foremost in our dealings, physicians and pharmaceutical companies can work together to provide better health care for all.”

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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents more than 93,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 215 million office visits each year – nearly 48 million more than the next medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide the majority of care for America’s underserved and rural populations.

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

To learn more about the American Academy of Family Physicians and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit www.aafp.org.

For more information about the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care and downloadable multi-media on family medicine and health care, visit the AAFP Media Center.

For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit familydoctor.org.