By Angela Hatton
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-933386.mp3
Louisville, KY – NPR and ProPublica recently aired a series of stories called "Dollars for Docs." The stories centered around a database that compiled the names of over 17,000 physicians who had taken money from prescription drug companies. The list includes a number of doctors in our region. The Kentucky Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and Kentucky's individual medical schools have policies which discourage doctors from taking money from the pharmaceutical industry. But especially in rural regions like western Kentucky, pharmaceutical representatives are the easiest way for doctors to learn about innovations in the field. Angela Hatton speaks with University of Louisville Chair of Family Medicine and Medical Humanism Dr. David Doukas, about the difficulties of keeping industry and medicine separate. Listen to the full, unedited interview.