Survey That Rewarded NYC Physicians with $100 Gift Card Concludes Physicians View Pharma Gifts Positively. Duhhh!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about all the brouhaha regarding results of a survey of NYC physicians just reported in Archives of Surgery.

The survey finds that 72 percent of the 590 physicians and medical students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who responded "have positive attitudes toward various marketing overtures, including small gifts and lunches" (see this Pharmalot post with the headline: "Most Docs Remain Positive About Pharma Marketing").

Not mentioned in the Pharmalot post is the fact that "participants who completed the survey were able to submit their names and e-mail addresses separately for the opportunity to receive 1 of 2 gift cards worth $100 each" (you have to access the METHODS section of the paper to see this; it's not in the abstract, which Pharmalot cited).

To which I say: DUHhh! Whaddaya (NYC-speak) expect from physicians who are offered not just one, but maybe TWO $100 gift cards?

Nevertheless, expect to see many more headlines like "Most Docs Remain Positive About Pharma Marketing" in the future.