Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1214

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: Journal Article

Floyd T.
Conflict of interest courtesy of drug reps...
BMJ 2003 Jan 5; 325:(7377):1375
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/325/7377/1375

Abstract:

Smith’s editorial raised some interesting points. As poignantly put by RS himself (who has never bought me lunch): “bias is pervasive and acts on us unconsciously” So why do doctors allow drug reps to sit in their office and give their spiel? I am not blind to commercial realities, and am quite OK with companies promoting their wares, but doctors should choose the best treatment option for patients supported by the latest unbiased research. If marketing money had to be redirected to researching better drugs because doctors insisted on making evidence-based decisions, so be it. Now there’s a ‘win-win-win’ for free enterprise/doctors/patients. Perhaps all doctors should take http://www.nofreelunch.org/‘s version of the CAGE questionnaire. (For those who are not members of the med-speak cognoscenti, the real CAGE questionnaire is normally used to screen people for alcohol abuse.) Have you ever prescribed Celebrex? Annoyed by the people who complain about drug lunches & free gifts? Is there a medication loGo on the pen you are using right now? Do you drink your morning Eye-opener out of a Lipitor coffee mug? If you answered YES to 2 or more of the above, you may be drug company dependent. Don’t despair!!! Click for HELP

Keywords:
letter to the editor United Kingdom Australia relationship between medical profession and industry conflict-of-interest gift giving No Free Lunch ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: GIFT GIVING ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: LINKS BETWEEN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND INDUSTRY INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PRESCRIBING, DRUG USE