March 4, 2009 Harvard examines relationship between faculty, drug companies Play video

(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Boston, Mass.) - Harvard Medical School is examining its conflict of interest policy after questions about the relationship between some faculty members and drug companies.

Students at Harvard Medical School are turning the tables on their professors. They want their instructors to disclose their personal ties to drug companies.

"We have a professor who studies this but he also is on the speaker's bureau for this and we don't necessarily know that," says Kim Sue.

Complaints surfaced a few years ago.

According to The New York Times, one student complained about a professor who seemed to be promoting the benefits of cholesterol drugs. That student says he found proof that his professor was a paid consultant to 10 drug companies, including five cholesterol drug manufacturers.

"The coalition is completely supportive of industries supporting research and doing legitimate funding to universities and academic medical centers, however if the funding is for marketing purposes, or is intended to sway a provider's decision of how they're going to prescribe drugs to a patient then that's another story," says Georgia Maheras.

Maheras is with the health care advocacy group, Health Care For All. She says any medical professional can risk crossing the ethical line when they put themselves in that position. So, the American Medical Students Association is pushing for full disclosure of these relationships, and Harvard seems

The dean of Harvard's Medical School recently set up a 19 member committee to re-examine the school's conflict of interest policies. That group is set to meet for the first time on Thursday.

"In the way that Harvard is just starting to reveal some of the relationships they have with the pharmaceutical companies, if the information is out there the students can see what's out there and make a decision for themselves," says Maheras.

Harvard released a statement saying: "We do all that we can to ensure honest and objective relationships with industry partners for the ultimate purpose of benefiting the sick and suffering."