Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2370
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
Goodman B.
Do drug company promotions influence physician behavior?
West J Med 2001 Apr; 174:(4):232-3
Abstract:
Calcium channel blockers are less effective than thiazides, more expensive, and more heavily prescribed, despite guidelines to the contrary. One factor is pharmaceutical samples, which influence physicians to use drugs they would not otherwise prescribe. Drug companies provided more than $7 billion worth of samples in 1999, mainly newer drugs, and spent almost $14 billion promoting drugs in the US. Calcium channel blockers are heavily promoted. This may explain why they are so heavily prescribed. Although many physicians deny being influenced, research consistently shows that gifts, from pens to vacations, do affect physicians’ beliefs and behaviour. Medical culture views pharmaceutical industry largesse as an entitlement. This culture needs to change. No Free Lunch (www.nofreelunch.org) was started in 1999 to challenge this culture. It encourages physicians to practice medicine on the basis of unbiased evidence, rather than biased pharmaceutical promotion, and to ‘just say no’ to industry largesse.
Keywords:
MeSH Terms:
Advertising/methods
Advertising/standards*
Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use*
Attitude of Health Personnel
Drug Industry
Drug Utilization/standards*
Drug Utilization/trends
Female
Humans
Hypertension/drug therapy
Male
Pharmaceutical Services/standards
Pharmaceutical Services/trends
Physician's Practice Patterns/standards*
Prescriptions, Drug/standards*
United States
Substances:
Antihypertensive Agents
*analysis/United States/pharmaceutical industry promotion/samples/prescribing behavior/gifts/culture of entitlement/No Free Lunch/ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: GIFT GIVING/ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: PAYMENT FOR MEALS, ACCOMMODATION, TRAVEL, ENTERTAINMENT/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: SAMPLES/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PRESCRIBING, DRUG USE/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: SAMPLES
