Last fall, I told you about the reprehensible actions drugmakers routinely take to court young, naive and time-challenged medical students. That survey of more than 1,000 future doctors studying at eight American medical schools was troubling:

• Respondents received at least one gift or were invited to a sponsored event every week.
• Almost half of the students had received textbooks as gifts.
• 80 percent of third-year students believed they were entitled to gifts from drug companies.

The new guidelines, proposed in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), would be an excellent step toward keeping medical schools focused on medicine rather than drug company profits.

Interestingly, this awesome USA Today piece points out new guidelines implemented by Yale University School of Medicine that mirror those described in the JAMA paper. But note that most universities will have a tough time enacting ones of their own, given how much they depend on drug industry "gifts."

If you ever wonder why I remain so focused on my vision to reform the sorry state of health care in America, this is a great example.

Very shortly you will also have an opportunity to help catalyze this transformation. If you haven't already read how you can become a health champion, please do so.