The Canadian Press is reporting that the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada is “endorsing the principles” of a April 2008 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges which recommended cutting off the stream of kickbacks and perks like free pizza parties, refrigerators and sunbelt trips being given to med students by pharmaceutical companies. “The public has to trust that the doctors that they see do not have any debts to pay to individual pharmaceutical companies or the sector as a whole,” said Irving Gold, the association’s vice-president of government relations and external affairs. “We have to model good behaviour in this context. And if we want to teach professionalism (to medical students), a part of teaching professionalism is by implementing these sorts of policies.”

Sounds great! But CMM says, don’t hold your breath. Gosh, you don’t think he actually MEANS that they are going to DO SOMETHING, do you? Gold quickly clarified that they are not actually implementing the report’s recommendations but are simply endorsing “in principle” the “principles” endorsed in the report, and now they have to figure out “how do these principles articulate themselves” into action… if they do… And he notes that the pharmaceutical industry will of course be participating in those discussions…