An article entitled “ Doctors: Under the drug industry’s influence?” explored the idea that doctors are being influenced by drug companies to promote specific drugs to their patients.
Not only do doctors receive free pens, meals and those hard to get concert tickets, some doctors have been known to accept monetary gifts. While attending college, I worked as a pharmaceutical technician. I can vouch for the “great” gifts that the pharmaceutical companies would leave for us. When pharmaceutical companies would visit our company, they almost always came bearing a wonderful lunch for us.
More recently the integrity of doctors and pharmaceutical companies were questioned when the Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley and Dr. Joseph Biederman, a prominent Harvard University psychiatrist failed to disclose payments from drug companies.
Dr. Marcia Angell of Harvard Medical School in Boston expressed the importance of doctors keeping their distance from industry. She continued to state the doctor should pay for their own educational meetings and not attend lavish events that are thrown by industry.
The article continues to explain how doctors give patients free samples, thinking as though they are helping their patients. However, they are simply assisting in a very effective marking technique.
After reading that free samples are a marketing technique, I feel guilty for accepting free samples from my doctor. As I think about it now, typically when doctors give you free samples, they almost always give you a prescription to get the drug when you run out of samples. They are good.. really good.
Now with the economy in a downward spiral, hopefully pharmaceutical companies will learn that it is important to have corporate responsibility.
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