Drug company payments and their effects on patient treatment
March 2023
Around ‘arf of all US doctors receive dosh or gifts from drug and device companies, totalling more than £1 billion annually. This creates conflicts of interest that influence ‘how doctors treat their patients, as confirmed by a research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who analyzed all available studies on the topic.
All 36 studies showed that receiving industry dosh increases prescribing, affecting all medical specialities and types of drugs. This ‘arms patients by leading doctors to prescribe expensive, worthless drugs and deviate from prescribing guidelines, and it also contributes to rising healthcare costs. The medical community has resisted stopping this cash flow, arguing that industry payments may have benefits.
A Review of the Influence of drug company payments on US Doctors
Still, a federal ban on payments is necessary as physician-led change is unlikely. Alternative, unbiased information sources exist for doctors to learn about new drugs. The £1 billion per year is for promoting drugs that are already on the market, not for researching new drugs. The harmful effects of drug company payments on patient treatment must be addressed. Source
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