|
Studies show that most doctors feel they are not influenced
by free gifts and perks from drug companies. They feel they
are educated enough to recognize an ad when they see it, and
as this New York Times article says, many take on the attitude
of "if the drug companies are naïve enough to imagine
that their largess will buy my loyalty, then so be it--it
is their gamble, and their loss."
However, the drug companies are not likely to keep giving
out freebies, ranging from pens to expensive dinners to trips
to exotic locations, if they aren’t getting anything
in return. Several studies have found that doctors are much
more likely to prescribe drugs they have been given free samples
of.
Further, another study tracked doctors’ use of two drugs
before and after receiving a free trip for "educational"
information. The researchers found that prescriptions for
the drug that was the subject of the trip more than tripled
while the use of other drugs remained the same.
This New York Times article exposes a pervasive problem in
the medical community--doctors are essentially paid off by
the drug companies, and their tactics are so commonplace that
many doctors don’t even notice.
New
York Times February 25, 2004
| 