From Synapse, a University of California, San Francisco publication:
… [A]fter finishing an operation at UCSF Medical Center, a surgeon usually completes the operative report, answers questions from medical students and residents, and reviews the conduct of the procedure with nurses. What the general public is unaware of is that the surgeon then faces being besieged by sales representatives from the device and pharmaceutical industries as he or she walks through the hallways of the operating room on the way to the waiting room to talk to the patient’s family. While the sales representative’s primary role is to provide a service to other surgeons utilizing their equipment or products at a medical center, there are few restrictions on utilizing their access for sales calls.
Since their presence validates Senator Grassley’s concerns about the intrusion of corporate interests and the ethical compromises at academic medical centers, perhaps Senator Grassley will some day bring an end to the OR hallway activities at UCSF and other institutions, which may present a more pervasive concern than ghostwriting…