A health system located in Minnesota and Wisconsin recently prohibited all branded materials within its 4 hospitals and 17 clinics. This new policy, that has been said to be “one of the toughest in the nation,” prohibits pharmaceutical companies from influencing doctors by limiting and controlling interaction between drug reps and doctors and excluding everything from pens and notepads to surgical caps and stethoscopes; essentially anything bearing a logo.
While some experts feel these materials can influence doctors to prescribe branded drugs over generics and therefore should be banned, others believe that by imposing such tight constraints important drug information and resources will be lost as well. What do you think this could mean for the future of healthcare branding?