Abstract
Ethical relationships between physicians and the drug industry require guidelines to maintain the integrity of the medical profession. The acceptance of gifts and subsidies for the cost of continuing-medical-education conferences is considered ethically acceptable provided the gifts are of minimal value and that the control of content and the selection of presenters and moderators for industry-supported CME programs rest solely with the CME-sponsoring institution. Current ethical guidelines for pharmaceutical industry support of CME programs are reviewed in this essay.
