Radiology Bioethics

Dangerous liaisons--physicians and pharmaceutical sales

representatives • Pharmaceutical companies are profit bound and they

allot promoting activities, and detailing in particular, huge amounts of money. Most physicians hold firmly to the belief that they are able to resist and not be influenced by drug companies promotion activities. Nevertheless, all previous works on literature tell us the opposite. Market research also indicates that detailers effectively promote drug sales. Various works also suggest that the information detailers provide to physicians may be largely incorrect, even comparing it to the written information provided by the pharmaceutical companies they work for

Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4236

• The practice of inviting physicians to attend company sponsored all-expense-paid educational courses in attractive vacation spots extends beyond manipulation and meets the business ethics definition of bribery. Physicians undertaking drug company sponsored studies to test the effectiveness of new drugs may be in a conflict of interest.

Doctors AND corruption?• The common charge is that

pharmaceutical or drug companies are influencing -- in harsher terms resorting to bribery and corruption to get – practicing doctors to prescribe “certain” brands of drugs whatever the illness of the patient.

Drug promotion and doctor: a relationship under change?

• Chren and associates feel that whenever a physician accepts a gift, an implicit relationship is established between the doctor and the company or its representatives and there is an obligation to respond to the gift. The gift usually reminds the doctor about the brand-name of the drug and results in a prescription. However, gifts cost money which is ultimately passed on to the patients without their explicit knowledge.The physician-patient relationship may be threatened if prescribing practices are affected