-- Doug Pensinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Here's guessing the administration will flip on this
> one.
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/26/politics/26DRUG.html?pagewanted=2&todaysheadlines
>
> W ASHINGTON, Dec. 25 -- Drug companies and doctors
> are fighting a Bush
> administration plan to restrict gifts and other
> rewards that
> pharmaceutical manufacturers give doctors and
> insurers to encourage the
> prescribing of particular drugs.
There was a semi-crackdown when I was a resident -
they stopped pharmaceutical companies from giving away
vacations and other large perks, but permitted meals
with 'educational talks' (for which, I must say, we
residents were extremely grateful - hospital food does
get boring), as well as pens and notepads. I still
have some of those pens, but couldn't tell you what
drug companies or drugs were being advertised; I
wonder if some of the recent impetus for public
advertising came b/c of the restrictions to docs.
I think perks and kickbacks are wrong. And I've
gotten some of those letters advising a drug change
for certain patients - they wound up file-13'd.
Unless there is a compelling reason to change
someone's drug regimen, I am very reluctant to alter
what seems to be working. ("If it ain't broke...")
However, as a traveller, I also didn't have to make
too nice with the administration; pressure from the
top could be very wearing on a regular staff member.
What the article didn't mention is samples of drugs.
Correctly used, these can be very helpful; you can
find out if the drug you picked will work for Mr.
Smith's hypertension, and if it gives him a bad side
effect, he hasn't paid for a month's supply. But if
you think an older, cheaper drug would do the job just
as well, yet give him a sample of a new drug b/c
that's what you have in the drug closet, someone winds
up paying more for that treatment than was necessary.
Debbi
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