Does your doctor take drug company money?

[Cinderella]

Doctors in Idaho were paid 2.5 million by drug companies over the past three years. It's not illegal but if your doctor is taking $200,000 from drug companies to give out their drugs does it raise questions for you? Does your medicine work for you? Has it hurt your doctors medical practice because of the cloud of suspicion?

Watch the full investigative story here: Link

[SuzySunshine]

This is why so many academic institutions are changing their rules. DH and I went to a conference for him last week and I was looking at his program. There were like 3 pages dedicated to listing presenters financial links.

This is an interesting discussion and over the next few years I'll be interested to see where equipment reps/companies fall into this. At Mayo there are no drug reps on campus, only equipment reps. Most neurosurgery fellowships are equipment company sponsored. Here the skull base lab that DH works in regularly is funded by equipment companies. That skull base lab is a vital learning part of his education and Mayo had one too but I don't think it was equipment company funded.

DH's mentor here has just taken the chairmanship at another institution he has the equipment companies fighting over who gets to fund his new skull base lab and his new fellow.

Its an interesting dynamic but I'm not sure the equipment reps will become an issue eventually too...

[MissCrabette]

I don't know anything about equipment reps. Here, drug reps aren't allowed at the university hospital, but they're more than welcome at the VA hospital. I'm not aware of doctors being paid. All I know is that they go in with food and give presentations. Hey, free food for the residents. I think the extent to which they're able to influence doctors is creating brand awareness and nothing more, but I guess that's something or they wouldn't keep doing it.

[Cinderella]

The drug reps used to come to our hospital and to our outpatient sites and provide pens and lunch for doctors but I didn't know that they actually paid doctors for anything. Dh said he watched the package and he can't tell me how much they stress in his USMLE studies that you should never do that.

[moonlight]

I know this is a bit of a tangent but does anyone know if Veterinarians do the same thing with drug and pet food companies. I hear all kinds of strange "advice" people say the Veterinarians have told them.

[medpedspouse]

I have wondered about the vet thing with the food because Science Diet is not cheap yet its ingredients are compared to other brands you can get for the same price.

[moonlight]

I have wondered about the vet thing with the food because Science Diet is not cheap yet its ingredients are compared to other brands you can get for the same price.

Most of the options Science Diet sells aren't that great. There is a vet in my area (don't know who) that strongly recommends Purina as the best dog food. Its worse than Science Diet! Someone told me they think it's because Purina has some sort of 'agreement' with the vet. It reminded me of this drug company thing C was talking about above.

[Michele]

The Prescription Diets are pretty good. And I can't speak for all vets, but I bet most carry the other formulas because it's easier to fill the minimum order weight by using the regular diets, instead of trying to buy enough C/D or J/D.

We get free pet food during vet school. From all the major brands.

Purina and Royal Canin also have prescription lines. The prescription foods are good. Why Science Diet over the others? Ease of purchase and most of the studies done use their diets. So we have literature to back up their claims.

[Vishenka69]

I'm not aware of drug reps buying (or drs accepting) anything more than a meal and a couple of pens or a stethoscope. Many institutions don't even allow that in their facilities.

[SoonerTexan]

Which is why DH and I were rolling laughing when Dave Ramsey suggested broke med students should try and get pharma companies to give them scholarships

[SuzySunshine]

I would also be curious, and maybe I missed this, but is this actually cash paid or is expense reimbursement type stuff? We have an Ortho friend who promotes the surgical tools he uses and he gets reimbursed for all of his travel expenses, flys on their private plane, etc. and I'm pretty sure he has to report all of that. So its not really income in that its not cash.

Times are definitely a lot different even from 13 years ago when I graduated from college and interviewed with a couple of pharmacy companies for rep positions. A lot more was allowed back then.

[Vanquisher]

My husband is for sale. No. Really. I would like non-sequential small bills please. Large bills are okay too. You can place the funds in my offshore account or my g-string.

No one is buying anyone that I know of. And, it wouldn't change his prescribing habits or use of implants if dh was being paid by them. We are lucky to get deli sandwiches once in a while from equipment reps. No fancy stuff anymore, not even pens.

[moonlight]

The Prescription Diets are pretty good. And I can't speak for all vets, but I bet most carry the other formulas because it's easier to fill the minimum order weight by using the regular diets, instead of trying to buy enough C/D or J/D.

We get free pet food during vet school. From all the major brands.

Purina and Royal Canin also have prescription lines. The prescription foods are good. Why Science Diet over the others? Ease of purchase and most of the studies done use their diets. So we have literature to back up their claims.

What about non prescription pet foods? Do the pet food companies have sales reps that solicit vet offices for non prescription pet food sales or to get the vets to recommend a certain brand over another when clients ask "what a good dog food?"

[Michele]

The Hills reps push their prescription foods. Same with the Purina and Royal Canin reps.

The closest thing to pushing regular diets was the RC guy who was telling us why their food kibbles have different shapes. They have one food shape that slows dogs down so they can't scarf and . It was neat! But that's a "medical" reason not just our food is best kind of schpeal.

[DCJenn]

Our drug reps are complaining about the clients talking to them and "scaring" them.

Hmmmm, you're attempting to sell meds to psychiatrists who work with the indigent population of San Antonio. Patients in active psychosis talk to lots of people, most are in their heads- you're not special.

So annoying.

Our docs are paid a flat salary and all meds are handled by the company. Occasionally they'll bring Jason's Deli in if they're doing a training. (The methadone people [Mallinckrodt] do have some great trainings for our staff so we fully take advantage of those)

J.