Has the ethical agreement given the medical industry a better image?

Probably not since the public has not discovered that new and more strict rules concerning doctors and the medical industry have been implemented.

In an ethics survey recently done by Zapera, only 17% know that there is an ethical agreement between the doctors and the medical industry.
However, when they obtain knowledge about the agreement the majority thinks that the conditions are fair. On the contrary it can be stated that the ones most affected by the agreement, the doctors, still have a negative view on the deal because they think that they will now have less possibilities to further educate themselves.

In the ethics survey Zapera has measured the attitude of the public towards ethics in different sectors. Not completely unexpected the weapon industry is perceived as the most unethical.

The medical industry does not particularly distinguish itself but ends up in the middle together with sectors such as energy, cars, food, media, tobacco and telecom. When you turn the questions around the hospitals occur as the most ethical companies, that is the target group of the medical industry.
We can also state that the public thinks that the limit of what is ethically correct between the medical industry and doctors is more narrow on a number in studies including marketing activities compared to what applies to companies in general and their customers.

In Zapera’s doctor panel the GP’s have been given the opportunity to give their opinion on the ethics agreement. Despite changes in December 2006, which are presented in the survey, there are still more negative than positive.
The doctors think that the Government, their employer, have not compensated to a sufficient degree for the diminished opportunities for further studies which is the consequence when the industry is only allowed to pay for half of the educational costs.

Source: Zapera News, Issue 25, February 2007