(New York, New York—June 19, 2009) – Mount Sinai School of Medicine was one of only nine medical schools nationwide to earn a grade of 'A' for the second year in a row in an American Medical Student Association (AMSA) survey that examined medical school policies on pharmaceutical perks. Mount Sinai School of Medicine was also the only medical school in New York to receive the ‘A’ ranking.

The results of the survey, titled AMSA PharmFree Scorecard, were released on June 16th. AMSA surveyed 149 medical schools and found 36 schools received a 'B,' 18 others received a 'C,' 17 earned a 'D,' and 35 schools failed. Thirty-four respondents received a grade of "In Process" because their policies are currently under review or revision.

Mount Sinai ranked among the top nine in the country for having strong policies that protect staff and students against pharmaceutical influence. AMSA estimates that the pharmaceutical industry spends between $28 and $46 billion per year marketing physicians and trainees. These marketing practices can include free lunches, gifts, free drug samples, and even seminars. The other eight institutions ranked at the top were: the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the University of California Davis School of Medicine, the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Mayo Medical School.

"We scored well again this year because Mount Sinai sets the very highest standards around conflict of interest," says David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education. "There is zero tolerance to any inappropriate influence because we believe that physicians and scientists must adhere to an ethical code that is determined by members of the profession without undue outside persuasion."

AMSA collaborated with The Pew Prescription Project, a Boston-based industry watchdog group. The AMSA PharmFree Scorecard, which can be viewed by visiting www.amsascorecard.org, looked at medical schools conflict-of-interest policies among other criteria.

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center
The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical Center.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic science research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants. For more information, please visit www.mountsinai.org.