Provide an argument for this based on the current ethical fabric of society and what is accepted in the organizations involved.
In response to the question above:
Clearly, there are people who think these kinds of actions are not ethical. An organization called No Free Lunch goes against the pharmaceutical reps giving physicians “bribes” as seen in this question. They believe it is wrong and unethical for physicians and pharmaceutical companies to accept gifts from each other and urge physicians to take a pledge against it. The pledge that the No Free Lunch organization created has the pledgers agree to “accept no money, gifts, or hospitality from the pharmaceutical industry; to seek unbiased sources of information and not rely on information disseminated by drug companies; and to avoid conflicts of interest in [their] practice, teaching, and/or research.” This is done for the safety and ethical rights of the patients.
According to Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), an organization that represents the pharmaceutical companies in America, it is not ethical to provide “any entertainment or recreational items, such as tickets to the theater or sporting events, sporting equipment, or leisure or vacation trips, to any healthcare professional who is not a salaried employee of the company”. Obviously, they believe this situation would be unethical, but I am sure it still goes on to a certain degree. http://www.phrma.org/sites/default/files/108/phrma_marketing_code_2008.pdf
I would make the argument that both sides believe it is unethical for a situation like the one in the question above to occur. Personally, I think it could be ethical for the physician to accept the tickets if there was no way that the game would affect if that doctor conducted business with the pharmaceutical rep. Obviously there is no way of knowing if it will or won’t affect their business unless they don’t go to the game. If they do let it affect their decision to make business with the pharmaceutical rep then I believe it is unethical to do so. The physician should be thinking about what will be best for their patients, not what perks they can get along the way. That’s what their job is, it is to help the patients the best they can and they get paid to do that. When college’s recruit athletes they can’t bribe them and I think this situation is very similar and it is a more important issue because it affects people’s health directly. If the pharmaceutical rep just gives the tickets to the physician for them and their family that would be wrong, but I think if the rep takes just the physician out to the game to talk about their product then it would be a different situation and it might be ethical under special circumstances.
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