Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4144

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Undue influence: how drug companies sway doctors’ decisions
Consumer Food & Health 1990 Jun7-9

Abstract:

Drug companies use gifts and expenses-paid junkets to persuade doctors to prescribe particular drugs. Multinational drug companies spend $40-50 million annually on promotion in New Zealand. The promotional material that companies use is sometimes misleading and occasionally appears to break the law. Doctors are simply not trained in critical evaluation of drug company marketing. The Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry of the Researched Medicines Industry appears to be broken frequently but despite this the Disciplinary Committee has not met in almost a year and when it does meet it never publishes its rulings. According to the RMI, pharmaceutical promotion encourages doctors to change the brand they prescribe rather than to needlessly increase prescribing. Companies take doctors to wine festivals and on river rafting trips. Sometimes doctors demand free trips from sales representatives before they will consider using a drug. The article offers some suggestions for action to change the situation. The article also describes the various forms of promotion that companies use: journal advertising, sales representatives, free samples, competitions, gifts and all expenses paid educational weekends.

Keywords:
New Zealand/ Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry (NZ)/ gift giving/ journal advertisements/ drug company sponsored meals and travel/ Researched Medicines Industry/ regulation of promotion/ relationship between medical profession and industry/ promotion costs and volume/ value of promotion/ industry perspective/ drug samples/ sponsored symposia & conferences/ quality of information/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: HEALTH PROFESSIONALS/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: INDUSTRY/ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: GIFT GIVING/ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: PAYMENT FOR MEALS, ACCOMODATION, TRAVEL, ENTERTAINMENT/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: JOURNAL ADVERTISEMENTS/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PRESCRIBING, DRUG USE/PROMOTION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION: DOCTORS/PROMOTION DISGUISED: CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: DETAILING/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: SAMPLES/REGULATION, CODES, GUIDELINES: COMPLIANCE, SANCTIONS, STANDARDS/REGULATION, CODES, GUIDELINES: INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION/VOLUME OF AND EXPENDITURE ON PROMOTION