A while back, we posted on how the American Medical Student Association ranked the nation’s med schools based on their freebie acceptance policies. Since the release of the so-called “PharmFree Scorecard,” several schools have decided to clean up their acts in response to their embarrassing rankings.

According to Pharmalot,

Now, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has drafted a get-tough policy that would prohibit docs, other employees and students from accepting almost all freebies from industry. The med school dean has also endorsed the draft principles. Robert Branch, director of Pitt’s center for clinical pharmacology, tells The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it’s unlikely companies “would make this massive investment if it wasn’t successful.” Pitt received a ‘B’ from the AMSA.

In West Virginia, Marshall University, which received an ‘F,’ is also considering a new policy. “Some faculty and administrators within the school are looking at the influence of the pharmaceutical industry and ways to limit or decrease it,” Charles McKown, dean of Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, tells The Charleston Gazette. “The consensus seems to be that more policies and restrictions are likely forthcoming here.”

The PharmFree Scorecard has caused many schools to step back and evaluate their relationship with Big Pharma. Translation: Standing up and being heard can yield results.

Amen!