Want to find out if your doctor is getting money from drug companies? I started looking after a

[Maraya1969]

pain doctor who I see suddenly has his office filled with all sorts of anti-medical marijuana bullshit. It is coming up on the ballot in Nov. I posted about him previously. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10454259

So who are the biggest blocks against medical marijuana? BIG PHARMA AND THE DOCTORS WHO ARE IN CAHOOTS WITH THEM. It is all about money!

https://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/


Here is one of the physicians who is fighting against Medical Marijuana in his office in FL right now and the money he has been given by pharmaceutical companies.

MICHAEL FREY
Listed Specialty: Interventional Pain Medicine

8255 COLLEGE PKWY, STE 100, FORT MYERS, FL, 33919-5119


PAYMENTS 456

PAYMENT TOTAL $142,371

Rank: 2 out of 169 doctors in this specialty and state



COMPANIES PAID THIS DOCTOR 31


Then there is a list of all the fees paid to this doctor. I do not understand fees for food and beverage.

Types of Payments

CATEGORY PAYMENTS PAYMENT VALUE

PROMOTIONAL SPEAKING/OTHER
37 $93,466


HONORARIA
18 $30,900


FOOD AND BEVERAGE
373 $11,220


CONSULTING
4 $3,400


TRAVEL AND LODGING
23 $3,365


EDUCATION
1 $20

[Shandris]

1. Hrm. Checked my primary care doctor...

...and he had under $800, almost entirely in Food and Drink. I know the reps take him to lunch, so that's not a surprise at all. Whew! I knew I trusted the right doctor. Soooooo many of them I won't even begin to trust. In fact, only...two?...three, maybe that I've ever really trusted.

Very nice site, thanks for the link!

[michaz]

2. My Doctor got $24. For education. n/t

[zenabby]

3. wow!

That's a great site! Thanks for the link. Just checked out my doctors, my doctor has got $11 in her lifetime, so I'l forgive her

[Warpy]

4. That doesn't include all the tchotchkes they strew around

All my post-it notes have drug names on them and half my pens do.

What I object to were some of the kickbacks that used to be legal. I think things are tightened up now, but there used to be a booklet floating around giving the per prescription "bonus" docs would get if they submitted copies to the company. I think HIPAA likely put the kibosh on that, they can't send the copies any more.

We nurses found the booklet and we were not happy.

[handmade34]

5. top 5 anti-marijuana lobby groups

1. Pharmaceutical corporations
2. Police unions
3. Private prison corporations
4. Prison guard unions
5. Alcohol and beer companies


it's got nothing to do with the well being and concern for people...

[Stuart G]

6. Thank You for showing who profits most...from no marijuana for all...We know why..

[jberryhill]

7. I'll explain the food and beverage part

My doctor gets a free lunch just about every danged day.

The Pharma rep shows up, buys the office lunch, has a chat about this or that ailment, study or whatever, and leaves free samples.

Instead of chewing up patient time or personal time, it's a whole lot easier to buy lunch for the office while making a sales visit.

The thing is, one of them eventually did sell my doc on an in-house urinalysis unit, which has cut down on lab referrals and lowered costs. Since my doc can do the tests at a lower margin and still make a worthwhile return on the lease, it saves all of the patients time. Also, the huge freaking supply of free samples are enough for my doc to get an entire course of treatment for some stuff into the hands of patients who might not otherwise be able to buy it.

But, yeah, all of that stuff is available online now.