Paying Doctors to Sell Drugs

NPR recently ran a few stories called "Dollars for Docs," a disturbing piece of information about doctors being reimbursed by drug companies. Although many doctors received only a small amount from drug companies, many received over $100,000. So what are they doing to earn this money? You name it. A large majority earn a small amount from sitting through a presentation, then commenting on what they heard. Others are going on office visits with drug reps to discuss the advantages of certain drugs. These doctors are usually considered experts in their field. Some doctors give presentations to large groups of doctors and are well compensated. This system benefits both the doctors and the drug companies. Doctors make money on the side and drug companies have credible spokespeople encouraging others to write more prescriptions. But are there any downfalls?

You bet! Although the drug companies say they use only upstanding physicians, ProPublica.org has found out otherwise. "A review of physician licensing records in the 15 most-populous states and three others found sanctions against more than 250 speakers, including some of the highest paid. Their misconduct included inappropriately prescribing drugs, providing poor care or having sex with patients. Some of the doctors had even lost their licenses." (propubica.org) Some compensated doctors had no specialized degree, even though they said they did.

Another downfall is the information being distributed. Many of the compensated doctors encouraged prescriptions to be written for uses other than what was approved. In other words, if the medicine was approved for headaches but had a side effect of helping to lower blood pressure, compensated doctors were mentioning this side effect as if it were an approved medicine for lowering blood pressure.

I am disturbed by this information, as many should be. I have a family member who is dependent on prescription medication for his quality of life. When I go to the doctor, I want to know that, if I need medication, the prescription is being written based on the best information possible. But I am disgusted by the blatant disregard the drug companies seem to have for the end-users of their products and the interest paid to their bottom line. Maybe if more people were aware of what was going on and got upset, the system could change.