Is this the best drug? Or the one that’s getting the doctor a free trip?

There have been more attention and restrictions the past couple of years on pharmaceutical company representatives providing meals, golf trips and other freebies to doctors to get them to prescribe certain drugs. Less is reported about how the reps schmooze hospital executives. But The New York Times reported on a recent gathering of hospital executives and industry reps at a Colorado luxury resort. Not only did drug and medical supply companies pay the doctors and their spouses to attend, the companies also paid doctors thousands of dollars to give them advice on how best to sell their products to hospitals.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

13 Comments

  1. Mary Caruso
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 4:19 pm | Permalink

    This sort of thing should be outlawed, like it is in Japan. The drug compaines spend lots of money giving perks to doctors to make sure they are prescribing the latest (and most expensive) medications for their patients. They also literally spend billons on advertising to push their drugs. I think it’s all unethical and should be stopped. That would be one way to decrease the cost of prescription medications, which in turn would save taxpayers money, too.

  2. J M Walker
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 4:28 pm | Permalink

    Good grief, some of the doctors offices I walk into seem like glowing advertisements for one drug or another. I’m surprised they do’t hand out pens or coffee cups with each visit. Ridiculous!

  3. J R
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 4:31 pm | Permalink

    Agreed Mary

    For anyone who doesn’t see this going on or doesn’t question whether doctors are being bribed by the paharmaceutcals to overmedicate us, look around the next time you go to the doctor. Notice the Alavert exam table paper. Check out the Viagra calendar and Cialis clock on the wall. Some of the doctors instruments may sport the names Zoloft or Prevacid. The whole office is one big commercial.

  4. J R
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 4:32 pm | Permalink

    See? Walker noticed it too.

  5. Mary Caruso
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 5:05 pm | Permalink

    It seems like every time I sit in a drs. office, there are drug reps in the waiting room waiting to see him/her also. It’s amazing how common it is. I remember when Pavaroti came to town, some drug company bought tickets for all the docs, the tickets were over $300 a piece.

  6. Jed
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 8:23 pm | Permalink

    Gee, I thought this sort of thing was outlawed after the big stink over Halcion and a trip to the Bahamas for prescribing it to so many patients. Turned out that it caused some of the patients who took the sleeping medication to unknowingly kill or injure their spouses. I hope at least the doctors had fun in the sun!

  7. Darwin'sDisciple
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 10:20 pm | Permalink

    While pharmaceutical companies claim that have to make up the research and testing expenses their drugs require – I think a big part of their costs have to be all the freebies they give away.

    There should be limits placed on how many give-aways (or the dollar amount) an MD can accept. Most docs I know would be happy to live by rules like this.

    Drug reps make pretty good money and it might be a bad career – the travel would be a pain, though. Some reps push unapproved (not reseach based) uses of their drugs; this should be illegal.

  8. Darwin'sDisciple
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 10:21 pm | Permalink

    should be “might NOT be a bad career” – I fell victim to a Freudian slip as Hank will be able to tell.

  9. diabetic
    Posted July 17, 2006 at 11:49 pm | Permalink

    I recently got a prescription for Keflex (an antibiotic) which would have cost me…are you ready? $485.95 (month’s supply)

    I have NO health insurance and no money, and my doctor knew this…but still insisted on “selling” me the most expensive drug possible. There was no way I could ever hope to afford this medication and sadly, going without it would mean the loss of both of my legs. Luckily, I got the generic equivalent instead, which ran $65.

    I wish doctors would treat problems instead of trying to “sell” miracle cures (overpriced drugs). And the drug ads seen literally everywhere are absolutely outrageous!

  10. Tara
    Posted July 18, 2006 at 3:42 am | Permalink

    Diabetic-That’s a horrible story! I’m glad you got to take the generic instead.But, most doctors are compassionate and recognize the financial constraints of their patients. The three months where I was uninsured, my GP gave me free samples of medicine when I needed it instead of writing a prescription that I couldn’t afford.I would suggest finding a better doc!

  11. Jed
    Posted July 18, 2006 at 7:03 am | Permalink

    Ask your doctor about programs run by pharmaceutical companies that supply free medication for low-income patients. The paperwork is usually a royal pain in the ass, but it’s slightly better than doing without needed medicine. Unfortunately, some medicines aren’t available under these programs, but it’s worth checking into. Most doctors are willing to help with samples too.

  12. NoJoCo
    Posted July 18, 2006 at 12:44 pm | Permalink

    Yes, doctors are persuaded by pharmaceutical companies and they’re held hostage (along with patients) by health insurance companies.

    I’m tired of my doctor throwing medication at everything that ails me. One of the biggest problems with drugs is that they often have side affects. Sometimes other drugs are needed to counter the side affects.

    I’ve discovered that chiropractic care can help tremendously.

  13. Mary Caruso
    Posted July 18, 2006 at 5:50 pm | Permalink

    That and regular exercise like yoga. I found that my painful back and joints completely disappeared after doing it for a while, much better to deal with the underlying problem than taking pain meds to mask the symtoms. Massage is a great therapy also. Americans need to look at alternative therapies more, it would save them lots of money and they don’t have the side effects.