"Doctors Still Taking Drug Company Freebies." MSNBC
A New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM, national survey of physicians in 6 specialties [anesthesiology, cardiology, family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, and pediatrics] confirms an extremely unhealthy relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. The results of the survey provide the following statistics: Most physicians (94%) reported some type of relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, and most of these relationships involved receiving food in the workplace (83%) or receiving drug samples (78%). More than one third of the respondents (35%) received reimbursement for costs associated with professional meetings or continuing medical education, and more than one quarter (28%) received payments for consulting, giving lectures, or enrolling patients in trials.
MSNBC asserts that this NEJM survey is follow-up to one done in 2002 by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group that voluntarily adopted rules limiting the value of monetary gifts and certain entertainment perks. When asked to comment on the results of the NEJM survey, the response was this is "common knowledge". Apparently this trade group, and by extension its physician members, believe the practices unearthed by the survey constitute a legitimate way to educate physicians about the latest drugs and technology.
Showing posts with label payment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label payment. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Payments to MD's Beat Glare of Disclosure Laws
"loopholes allow drug companies to hide millions of dollars in payments and make it difficult to know who’s receiving them." MSNBC
According to a recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, laws in Minnesota and Vermont requiring puplic disclosure of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians do not actually provide access to such information. In Vermont, 61% of payments were not released to the public because pharmaceutical companies designated them as "trade secrets" and 75% of publicly disclosed payments were missing information necessary to identify the recipient.
Whatever information provided proved of limited quality once accessed, however the authors were able to conclude that substantial numbers of payments in excess of $100 or more were made to physicians by pharmaceutical companies. The following two books will provide additional insight: "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us, and What to Do About It", by Marcia Angell, ISBN 0-375-50846-5, New York, NY, Random House, 2004 and "On the Take: How Medicine’s Complicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health", by Jerome Kassirer, ISBN 0-19-517684-7, New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2004.
According to a recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, laws in Minnesota and Vermont requiring puplic disclosure of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians do not actually provide access to such information. In Vermont, 61% of payments were not released to the public because pharmaceutical companies designated them as "trade secrets" and 75% of publicly disclosed payments were missing information necessary to identify the recipient.
Whatever information provided proved of limited quality once accessed, however the authors were able to conclude that substantial numbers of payments in excess of $100 or more were made to physicians by pharmaceutical companies. The following two books will provide additional insight: "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us, and What to Do About It", by Marcia Angell, ISBN 0-375-50846-5, New York, NY, Random House, 2004 and "On the Take: How Medicine’s Complicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health", by Jerome Kassirer, ISBN 0-19-517684-7, New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2004.
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