Pharmaceutical companies play a vital role in healthcare. They invest tremendous amounts of money in research, development and marketing. It is through marketing, that healthcare providers and patients can be influenced into prescribing or wanting these medications. Whether deliberate or not, they develop a type of quid pro quo understanding which may not represent innocent business practices all the time. Several aspects of healthcare are driven by financial gain, and boundaries must be set on all levels when the welfare of patients and professionals are at stake. All healthcare providers must uphold the fiduciary relationship they have with patients and be held to a higher standard in earning the trust and confidence of others while avoiding conflicts of interest. 8 There are programs and organizations that have taken proactive steps toward limiting the amounts of influence pharmaceutical companies may have. Further research may be required to understand exactly how much influence and to what degree this issue extends.
