ever wonder why a doctor prescribes a certain drug?

[spanone]

Drug Company Doctor Money Per U.S. State

a state by state accounting of what the drug companies spend to promote their products with your doctor

http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/states

[defendandprotect]

1. Right ... they'll pretty much give you poison ... we also have doctors now who

long ago selected the profession based on the profits!!

[Maru Kitteh]

22. Make up your mind. Do they want to poison poeple or get rich? Dead patients don't pay.

And poisoned ones tend to not last very long.

[stray cat]

2. Doctors get paid for every procedure they order- that is the real devil in the room

The perfect pay to play scenerio!

[Mojorabbit]

11. Can you expand on this

My husband is a family doctor and does not get paid for any procedure he orders.

[niyad]

3. I always thought it was based on whichever big pharma rep had been there last.

[knitter4democracy]

4. *sigh* Yeah, it couldn't be because they know it has a good chance of helping.

No, it couldn't be because the doctor knows how it works on a molecular level and reacts in the body to help you get better. It couldn't possibly be because they understand the physical processes the drug interacts with to stop or help or whatever's needed. :eyes:

Yes, there are doctors out there who don't give a damn. They just want to get paid, and after dealing with needy, sick people day in, day out, they've snapped and just don't give a damn anymore. They prescribe what the patients beg for, knowing it won't help the underlying problems, and get the patients out of their office. If you're not sure, check out placebojournal.com for the jaded doctor's side of the story (it's a humor journal, but that guy's e-mail newsletter is dark, dark stuff).

There are also great doctors out there who know they're constantly balancing what the drug does vs what its side effects are and are hoping their patient wins in that. Great doctors who know there isn't much they can do about this or that disorder or disease but still fight like hell to help you get better. I've known several in my life, doctors who have saved my life more than once, and even though my ex is a narcissistic jerk, he's still one of the best diagnosticians in the area who has saved numerous lives (and this from other doctors, not just him).

Some prescribe the latest and not-so-greatest because of patient demand. All that direct-to-consumer advertising, you know. The drug companies found out that they get a bigger bang for their buck with direct-to-consumer than with the doctors because most doctors question those drug ads and reps and know how things really work.

[spanone]

7. ' Receiving payments isn’t necessarily wrong, but it does raise ethical issues'

Drug Firms Say They’ll Take Closer Look at the Docs They Pay

Several of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies said they plan to tighten screening of physicians who promote their drugs after ProPublica reported last month that more than 250 of them had been sanctioned for misconduct.

Eli Lilly and Co. said that next year, for the first time, it would hire an outside firm to search for state disciplinary actions against its hired speakers and advisers. Lilly, the seventh-largest company by U.S. prescription sales, did not previously conduct such screening and was unaware of the dozens of actions ProPublica found against its speakers.

"Your reporting has raised valid and important questions, which we have taken steps to address," spokesman J. Scott MacGregor said in a statement.

AstraZeneca, the third-largest firm, is "evaluating new ways to retrieve state disciplinary actions that would allow us to act on that information in a timely manner," spokesman Tony Jewell said in an interview.

http://www.propublica.org/article/pharma-payments-to-doctors-with-sanctions

[knitter4democracy]

14. I've honestly never known a doctor who was paid like that.

The younger ones don't take the money. The only thing I can think of are the heavily subsidized medical conferences that everyone goes to. In addition to med school textbooks, pens, bags, and all the little crap, that's the only way I know of any doctor taking money from a drug company.

[Mojorabbit]

12. +10000 nt

[jberryhill]

5. ...and how much do they spend advertising to patients?

(do not read this post if you are being treated for high blood pressure or have a history of flaming. Some readers may experience dizziness, nausea or unusual bleeding when reading this post. If you experience blurred vision or a dry mouth, stop reading this post and alert the mods immediately)

[hootinholler]

10. Ok I alerted

Now What?

:rofl:

-Hoot

[GoCubsGo]

6. Nope.

Not after seeing the drug reps in the office every time I go in for a visit.

[Hawkeye-X]

8. Same here. Every time I go visit, there's always at *least* 2 drug reps

horning in on my *appointment*, forcing me to wait until 20 minutes before I see my doctor.

I've let him know of my displeasure and he's aware of it.

I guess the drug rep's time is more important than mine.

I've asked the doctor to schedule the damn reps on his OWN time, not on *MY* or *OTHER PEOPLE* times.

[knitter4democracy]

17. I'm surprised he's not kicking the reps out.

It's not like the reps pay what a level III billing does. Most docs I know get their free samples and make them leave stuff to "read" (aka pitch into the recycling bin) later. That's why more and more reps are buying the practices lunches.

[Raine]

18. Yup had that happen too especially when taking my 80+ father

we had to wait and wait. It really pissed me off when some drug selling rep would strut in after us without an appointment and we had to wait. :grr:

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. Here's why.

http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2009/09/meet-pharma-drug-rep-natalie-white.html

[knitter4democracy]

15. She's the Barbie-style rep.

There are basically two kinds of reps: the Barbie/Ken look-alike who's there because of looks and definitely not anything else, and the still-good-looking ones who can actually answer questions. The companies know which ones to send where.

[Locrian]

13. database

Drug companies know exactly which doctor prescribes (and how much they prescribe) their "product".

[knitter4democracy]

16. When they find out someone's not prescribing it, they send the troops.

My ex and the practice he last worked in got this all the time. They had a poorer population on fixed incomes and so tended to prescribe generics. My ex had a regimen for treating heart failure that cost $100/mo (instead of over a thousand). They got reps all the time and so had a pretty strict way of dealing with them. Then the reps started paying for lunch for the practice at least once a week (and it's a good-sized practice). So, the doctors would scurry in to grab free food and run out, leaving the nurses and support staff to deal with the reps. One day, one from a company they didn't tend to use as much blocked the ex and one of the partners by the door and asked why they didn't prescribe her product. The partner eviscerated her, asking how it was any different on a molecular level than the generic and on and on. The ex said it was beautiful to watch. That rep wasn't sent back, and then they started getting the ones who could answer questions.

[Raine]

19. Good

I would've love to have seen that! :applause: :thumbsup:

[tech9413]

20. I'm in the middle of an article in The Sun magazine

It's an interview with Dr Andrew Weil called Vital Signs. It really puts the screws to out medical profession and it's reliance of pharmaceuticals and technology that are not very effective and sometimes harmful. Having worked around the medical profession most of my life, I've seen the problems first hand.
It's time to rebuild our health care system to provide care that is effective and doesn't choose the easiest or most profitable way to treat ailments.

I'd link to the article but the website has December and this article is in the January issue.

[TexasObserver]

21. Steppenwolf had a song about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMqVrUSz62o