DOCTORS AND DRUG COMPANIES NOT SO COZY NOW NEJM NOV 01, 2007
For years drug companies have been giving doctors gifts, drug samples, sponsored lunches, free educations seminars, consulting fees, free trips and free food.
All this designed to influence physician prescribing behavior. The cost: over $19 billion each year.
The Senate introduced on Sept 6,2007 a bill that would require drug companies and manufacturers of medical devices with incomes over $100 million to disclose the amount of money they give doctors. The bill is called “ The Physician Payment Sunshine Act” to let the sun shine in so that the public would know about the monetary relationship. Drug companies and doctors have and to increase the transparency.
Because the drug company lobby is so strong in Washington, the bill has almost no chance of passing. However, large medical centers like Stanford, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania and others have been stimulated to police themselves. Boston University prohibits clinicians from accepting gifts. Others have banished industry food activity from their campuses, drug selection committees must be free of financial ties, drug representatives are being barred from hospitals, no more free samples, no free lunches for the staff, and more stringent restrictions on the drug industry.
The results of these actions may be:
Cheaper generic versions of a drug may be prescribed.
Doctors will more likely adhere to evidence based practice guidelines.
Off label generics will be used rather than drug samples.
Harder for drug companies to enroll patients in manufacturers clinical trials.
Less doctor advise on drug development.
Hopefully the $19 billion dollars saved by the drug companies will be passed along to the patients in lower prices. I fear the drug companies are indirectly educating the patients to become doctors are now spending it on TV ads.
Anyway, let the sun shine in. Christmas is over dear doctor.!
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