Drug makers spend millions of dollars to develop secret reports about doctors and their patients, including information such as whether a patient is switched over to a competitor’s drug and whether the doctor treats many poor patients and may want free samples.

Pharmaceutical companies spent $19 billion on marketing in 2001, and $16 billion of it was spent on marketing to doctors.

Many doctors are seeing fewer drug sales representatives and limiting their visits when they do, so the reports, or "prescriber profiles," allow sales reps to tailor their pitches to individual physicians.

The profiles allow sales reps to see a doctor’s prescribing habits within days of when the prescription is written, which allows them to see whether a doctor is responding to their pitch. For instance, if a doctor prescribes a competitor’s drug, the rep can focus the pitch on undermining that drug.

Further, drug companies would give gifts and trips to doctors who routinely prescribed their drugs. There are now voluntary industry guidelines in place that discourage such gifts.

Drug companies have been hiring outside firms to purchase data on doctors from pharmacies since the mid-1990s. While the practice is legal in the United States as long as patient names are not revealed, it was outlawed in the Canadian province of British Columbia in 1996.

Many doctors are concerned that the reports allow sales reps to push expensive drugs more effectively in a health care system that is already struggling with increasing costs. However, according to one company that sells prescription data to drug companies, the reports are used to promote safety and can be used to monitor cases in which large groups of patients are taking drugs that could have dangerous interactions.

Boston Globe May 25, 2003 page A1

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It is not surprising that drug companies are hiring consulting firms to find out detailed information about doctors and their patients. It is important, however, whether you are a doctor or a patient, to be aware of this practice. It is just one more method the drug companies will use to promote their drugs as a solution rather than the Band-Aids to cover up symptoms that they truly are. While there are times when drugs are needed, please realize that, more often than not, drugs are unnecessary and even harmful. Your body is a highly developed system that has natural defense mechanisms in place to fight off and prevent illness. In order to keep your body’s systems working at their optimum level, you must give your body the proper fuel. This includes: Eating pure whole foods, not the highly processed concoctions that line most supermarket shelves Getting enough sleep Exercising regularly Addressing emotional stress with a method such as EFT In my new book, The No-Grain Diet, I explain in detail how you can propel your body toward health, achieve a healthy weight and limit chronic disease by following these basic health principles. Related Articles: JAMA Blasts Drug Company for Stopping Study How the Drug Companies Deceive You -- The Inside Story of Nexium Drug Companies Greatly Influence Doctors’ Prescribing Habits Drug Company Gifts May Affect the Way Doctors Practice Medicine Medical Research or Drug Company Secrets? Medical Journal Drug Ads Often Misleading