Quote:
Originally Posted by undercoverbrother
please go on
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http://ethicalnag.org/2012/08/13/big-pharma-persuasion/
McGill University’s Dr. Ashley Wazana in Montréal reviewed 29 studies on doctors’ prescribing behaviour in the U.S., Canada, Holland, New Zealand, and Australia.
In his review, Dr. Wazana noted how a number of other persuasive marketing tools in use by drug companies impacted their targets in the medical profession:
free samples, honoraria, and research grants led doctors to be significantly more likely to prescribe that drug;
freebies also led doctors to request the drug for formularies (hospitals’ official lists of drugs that can be prescribed there);
hearing a drug sales rep deliver a presentation led doctors to recommend “inappropriate treatment” more often than other doctors, including treatment that cost more and was more invasive;
medical residents who heard drug reps speak at lunch rounds were more likely to have inaccurate information about drugs on the market;
doctors who “occasionally” attended Pharma-sponsored meals were 2-3 times more likely than other doctors to request that the sponsor’s drug be added to a hospital formulary;
doctors who “often” ate these meals were 14 times more likely to do so;
85% of doctors said they had some interaction with drug reps, with an average of three to four encounters a month;
86% of doctors accepted free drug samples, and half got research grants
two out of five doctors attended company-sponsored meals, and a similar proportion accepted funding for travel or lodging to attend company-hosted conferences