What’s up, Doc? Posted by Meg at 07/03/07 06:26 PM

After years of the pharmaceutical industry raking in billions, running rampant with TV ads saying “Ask your doctor about [insert overpriced drug here]” and lavishing money, free trips and gifts on doctors, legislators are finally starting to say: whoa.

In addition to the drug safety reform bill that passed the Senate and is a week away from likely passage in the House, several lawmakers have stated support for establishing a national registry of all pharmaceutical gifts and payments to doctors.

Why do we need to keep track of what freebies doctors are getting? From a NY Times editorial this week:

The drug companies ply doctors with a wide range of gifts, everything from free lunches for busy doctors and their staffs while sales representatives extol the virtues of their latest drugs to subsidized trips to vacation spots for conferences billed as educational events. The companies also pay large sums to doctors for consulting or for conducting research. These payments, which can mount into the hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of years, look suspiciously like inducements to promote or prescribe the companies’ drugs.

And it gets even deeper:

As Gardiner Harris reported in The Times last week, one drug company invited doctors to a weekend training session in Orlando, Fla., to learn how to give marketing lectures to other doctors for an asthma medicine. The enticement was free airfare, a rental car and hotel room, plus a $2,700 stipend.

If all this makes you a little sick, call your representatives and tell them to support legislation to create a registry of all drug company gifts to doctors. In the meantime, visit No Free Lunch for a listing of doctors in your town who have sworn off all pharmaceutical bribes…. oops… I meant gifts.

comments (5)

1 Posted by James Bayle at 07/05/07 05:42 AM

CR was one of the most respected names in US. Now you are promising $5.95 reports with months service. Great deal for someone to try your service. BUT read the fine print and it is auto charging. Have some class guys - you are NOT porn merchants. NO ONE wants that hassle - but you've learned that they forget to cancel. Sleazy, sleazy. Was willing to buy to see one report - but no more CR for me. Been mag and internet subscriber for years. I write here because you have no visible emails or phone numbers on website. NO PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN CANNED RESPONSE NECESSARY. Maybe a policy change and apology to your customers.

2 Posted by Meg at 07/06/07 01:34 PM

Sorry you’re upset with Consumer Reports, but if you’re trying to resolve a problem this isn’t really the right place to do it.

On the Consumer Reports website under “Customer Service” there is both phone and email contact information.

The number for the Online Subscription Department is 1-866-208-9427.

If you want to send an email, go to Customer Service on the CR website and click on "Find Answers". You'll see a link that says "How do I contact Consumer Reports?"

Hope this helps.

3 Posted by Amanda at 07/16/07 04:01 PM

anyone else think it should be against the law for doctors to receive all those freebies? pens and mugs are one thing, harmless really. but paidfor trips! I don't know how we can stand for such an incestuous relationship. it makes me sick. it's no different than campaign contributions, can't trust anyone anymore.

4 Posted by jazzyb at 08/11/07 08:21 AM

An even bigger sham is The National Medical Association (NMA) which has strong ties to the
pharmaceutical industry with approximately 85% of all funding coming
from this industry. The NMA has approximately 1,100-1,700 paid
physician members with a large portion of them being resident
physicians and medical students although in its promotional materials
it cites over 25,000 members. The membership of the NMA has never
exceeded 3,000 physicians in any given year further a large portion
of
their members are retired physicians. Many critics believe that the
NMA is simply a front for the pharmaceutical industry and given its
stance on several issues that the pharmaceutical industry lobbyists
promote, this is a valid criticism. There is a direct link with the
NMA's position statements and policy and the major funders of the
organization (drug companies). Further, the NMA hosts a "health
policy
colloquim" each year that is soley and fully funded by Pfizer Inc.
The
organization uses this time to invite politicians, healthcare leaders
and physicians to talk about the health policy in the United States,
again this is fully funded, supported and attended by Pfizer Inc.
which leads many to question the credibility of the organization.
The NMA hosts a national conference each year that is attended by a
few thousand (approximately 1,000 physicians and the remainder are
spouses and families). This conference is usually held in a major US
City with Honolulu, Hawaii being the most frequented venue. In 2007
the NMA went back to Hawaii with every major pharmaceutical company
in
the United States in tow-- supporting the event financially. Indeed,
physicians are unashamedly wined and dined by drug companies, attend
lectures on medications and treatment regimens that are funded by the
pharmaceutical industry and are able to receive many perks from the
industry. This conference, a tax deductible family vacation, is the
major fundraiser for the organization. Additionally, the NMA has a
"journal" which is fully supported by the pharmaceutical industry and
is another profit center with "medical articles" that appear which
are
heavily weighted pro-industry.

The NMA offers little to no outreach to patients or support for
physicians that take care of patients. Any outreach that it does
extend is fully funded by the pharmaceutical industry or the US
government with a hefty portion retained by the organization to stay
afloat. The organization often exploits its history of being the
oldest organization of Black physicians to blackmail pharmaceutical
companies and in some cases the government for funding. However, the
NMA is not the largest organization of minority physicians-- the
American Medical Association's Minority Affairs Consortium (MAC)
actually dwarfs the NMA membership and incidentially has little to no
funding from the pharmaceutical industry. The NMA further exploits
its
history and misrepresentation of actual membership in efforts to
promote the recycled leaders. The "elected" leadership often consists
of the same persons in various positions and the organization is
fraught with political corruption, questionable elections and poor
policies. Additionally, financial audits have been troubling for the
organization and it refuses to release fully audited statements from
the last 20 years with only selective years being released. The NMA
has been sued by several employees-- all settled out of court to the
benefit of the former employee and has years of questionable employee
policies. This while remaining a tax exempt organization and when
challenged playing the "race" card and comparing itself to the
American Medical Association.

This is the NMA--- dig deeper and it just gets worse. Unfortunately
as
a former employee-- I know this organization too well. The NMA is a
sham, a front for the pharmaceutical industry and a diservice to the
nation.

5 Posted by Diane Anderson at 08/20/07 12:19 PM

WHOEVER APPROVED PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY TV ADVERTISING OUGHT TO BE REQUIRED TO CONSUME ALL OF THE MEDS BEING PUSHED ON TV. NOT ONLY IS IT A DISGRACE THAT THE ADS ARE ALLOWED -- THE ACTUAL ADS ARE UNIMAGINATIVE AND BORING, AND WE ALL KNOW, THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES CAN AFFORD BETTER MARKETING COMPANIES.