New Guidelines Wipe Out Drug Company Freebies
By Gerri L. Elder
Doctors will no longer be bombarded with branded freebies from
the pharmaceutical industry. The
New York Times reports drug makers have voluntarily agreed to stop
providing them with promotional items, such as pens, notepads, t-shirts and
mugs, as of Jan. 1.
The drug companies have said the items given to doctors were
meant to foster good will; but others say they were used to encourage doctors
to prescribe more of the marketed drugs.
At the very least, the barrage of simple gifts kept drug
logos and mascots visible to doctors and patients. In the past, logos of defective
drugs that have since been recalled or pulled off the market have appeared
on the free merchandise.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an
industry group in Washington, wrote the new guidelines.
Not All Types of Giving Is Banned
Although drug makers are now banned from giving doctors
branded items, they still may provide free lunches for doctors and their staffs
or sponsor evening meals at restaurants as long as dinner includes some type of
educational presentation.
Drug makers are also permitted to pay doctors as
consultants, which can amount to individual doctors receiving tens of thousands
of dollars or more each year.
The new code also incorporates the group's 2002 code, which
prohibits more expensive gifting to doctors.
Items such as tickets to professional sports games and
resort retreats are not allowed. The
2002 guidelines also asked that companies that finance medical courses,
conferences and scholarships allow outside program coordinators to select study
materials and scholarship recipients.
Drug Company Reaction
Approximately 40 drug manufacturers have agreed to the new
guidelines. Drug companies on board with
the new guidelines include Eli Lily & Company, Johnson & Johnson and
Pfizer, according to The New York Times.
Diane Bieri, executive vice president of Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America, adamantly expressed to The New York Times that the new code was
not any type of admission that promotional items have or could influence
doctors to prescribe the advertised drugs.
Instead, she said, these gifts were meant to reinforce the
educational nature of the relationship between doctors and the pharmaceutical
industry.
Not everyone is convinced that the voluntary moratorium on
these promotional items is meaningful. Critics say drug companies still spend big bucks on other efforts to woo
and influence doctors.
According to IMS Health, a health care information company,
drug companies provided doctors with nearly $16 billion in free drug samples in
2008. The industry also spent more than $6 billion on sales activities such as
drug representative visits to doctor's offices, presentations that included
free meals and promotional freebies.
Doctor Reaction
Some doctors applaud the new guidelines, while others take
offense at the claims that a promotional product could influence them.
Despite the new rules, doctors and patients are still likely
to see the promotional products for some time because some doctors have stashes
of pens and other items that have grown over the years.
Don’t expect the drug logos to vanish immediately; although
if the new guidelines remain in place, over the years the obvious presence of
the pharmaceutical industry in your doctor's office will likely become less
apparent.
Hurt By a Drug? Speak With a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you have been injured by a defective drug, it is
important that you speak with a personal injury lawyer immediately. There may be a specific time limit for you to
file your claim.
Total Injury can arrange a free consultation with a personal
injury lawyer in your area. Just call us
at 877-288-7564 or fill out our injury
case evaluation form to get started.