>>They may expect that. I'd rather expect their 'lectures' to be framed with 'presentation brought to you by {insert brand name here} truck". And I'd refuse to pay for that 'lecture' as it's already been paid by the vendor. Just like I do with TV (which is why I don't have one).

Conferences are different from what you expect. Some are fully funded by vendors. At those, speakers need to be sufficiently reputable and independent that their words are distinguished from sock-puppetry, or they will be ignored by physicians who cheerfully fill their plates at the shrimp buffet but won't change their prescribing or other habits because a sock puppet spoke. Vendors know this and offer significant assistance to independently credible speakers to turn up. Such speakers are well aware of the danger of being seen as a sock puppet, so they are scrupulously careful what they say.

At a conference that isn't funded by vendors, sock puppets usually struggle to be allowed onto the podium are are limited in content once there. Attendees want to hear latest news not propaganda and will make their way to the beach rather than stomach a known sock puppet. Plus organizers need to attract top content or people won't pay the substantial attendance fees, even if it is being held at a beachfront resort. Seems to me that such a location is an advantage- because bad content will lose out to the beach every time.

The other point would be that one of the biggest benefits at a medical conference is talking to peers and colleagues who face similar challenges to your own. You pick up lots of stuff that way, including upcoming treatments and new methods of overcoming barriers.

>>It still doesn't mean they aren't prescribing what's making them a dime, only that if so, the dime is just a dime, compared to megabucks others are making. And that if they are bought, it was cheaper than we think.

As I said, if people believe physicians are incentivized to prescribe expensive products, then you can control that by legislating generic substitution despite use of brand name. When you do this, it turns out that some patients actually are better or safer on the more expensive version- but now you can see who they are.