BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Pharmaceutical companies and physicians must necessarily have contact so doctors can stay informed on the latest therapies. But a new survey reveals just how frequent these meetings are, and how doctors often benefit financially.

In a nationwide survey, researchers found that nearly all American doctors receive gifts, food or money from pharmaceutical companies. Ninety-four percent of doctors said they had received some form of compensation or incentive from the drug industry.

Most of the gifts were food or free drug samples, but more than one quarter of physicians had received payment from a pharmaceutical company. Cardiologists were twice as likely as family doctors to get payments, but family physicians had the most meetings with drug company representatives, averaging 16 per month.

Male physicians were more likely to get paid for their work with drug companies, but female doctors accepted just as many gifts.

Codes of conduct set out by the pharmaceutical industry and the American Medical Association both say doctors should not receive gifts that do not benefit patient care. But this new study shows just how common the practice continues to be.