Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray recently proposed a total ban on all gifts and freebies to doctors from pharmaceutical companies in an attempt to eliminate the influence of drug makers on the prescriptions written by physicians. 

The ban is part of a state heath care reform bill submitted yesterday that also includes requiring all Massachusetts doctors to adopt electronic medical records by 2015, allowing patients to choose nurse practitioners as primary care providers, and forcing public reviews of any insurance company efforts to boost annual premiums by more than 7 percent.  Read more