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Revitalizing Professionalism in Medicine: The Impact of Pharmaceutical Influence

The "PharmFree Campaign" addresses the detrimental effects of pharmaceutical industry influences on physicians and the doctor-patient relationship. It highlights how gifts, free meals, and consulting fees create conflicts of interest and lead to increased drug costs borne by patients. The campaign advocates for medical students and healthcare professionals to prioritize unbiased information sources over pharmaceutical marketing. It prompts discussion on policies regarding drug representatives and the ethics of pharmaceutical advertising, urging for a return to professionalism in healthcare.

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Revitalizing Professionalism in Medicine: The Impact of Pharmaceutical Influence

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  1. PharmFree Campaign Revitalizing Professionalism AMSA

  2. PharmFree Concerns • Pharmaceutical Industry influences on physicians are detrimental to the doctor/patient relationship • Advertising dollars could be better spent on research and development of new drugs

  3. What is the Issue? • What do Medical Students receive? • Pens • ID badge holders • Lunches • Textbooks

  4. What is the Issue? • What do Doctors receive? • Pens, notepads, office supplies • Lunches and dinners • Unrestricted educational grants • Consulting fees

  5. Professionalism: Is This the White Coat of the Future?

  6. Professionalism • Free pens, notepads and office supplies “commercialize” physicians • Gifts, consulting fees and paid vacations create a conflict of interest

  7. What Do Patients Think? J Gen Int Med 1998, 13:151

  8. Increased Cost of Drugs • Who pays for the pens and lunches given to doctors, residents and medical students? • Who pays for the TV and magazine ads? • Our patients, through the cost of their medications

  9. Advertising • Pharmaceutical companies spend $15 billion to advertise and promote drugs • Approximately $10,000 per doctor • $5.5 billion on detailing alone • Is it necessary? • Peer-reviewed journals • Medical Letter

  10. Do Ads Influence Doctors? • A) Yes • B) No • C) Doesn’t Matter Answer: A … and C

  11. Do Ads Influence Doctors? • A) Yes • Multiple studies in the literature show that prescribing patterns are affected by trips, gifts and advertisements

  12. Do Ads Influence Doctors? Invitations Received Drug Introduced Trip Chest 1992;102:270

  13. Do Ads Influence Doctors? • A) Yes • Information from the drug companies is biased, so relying upon it is not evidence-based medicine • JAMA 1995;273:1296 • JGIM 1996;11:575 • Ann Int Med 1992;116:912

  14. Do Ads Influence Doctors? • C) Doesn’t Matter • If doctors were immune to the ads, then $15 billion was wasted on promotions, paid for by our patients • That’s more than drug companies spend on R&D!

  15. What can medical students do? • Encourage more efficient use of pharmaceutical $$: Don’t partake of the Pharma largesse • Find unbiased sources of information such as doctors of pharmacology and The Medical Letter • Ask practicing physicians about their policies toward drug reps

  16. For More Information: • No Free Lunch: www.nofreelunch.org • AMSA: www.amsa.org/prof/PharmFree.cfm

  17. Questions for Discussion • What policy towards drug reps does your hospitals have? Physicians you’ve worked with? Your private physician?

  18. Questions for Discussion • Vermont recently passed a law requiring pharmaceutical companies to declare all gifts over $25 given to physicians. Similar legislation has been introduced in Congress. Is this an appropriate arena for government oversight?

  19. Questions for Discussion • 48 of the top 50 selling drugs in the 1990s were developed in part by public dollars. Should the government control the prices of drugs that are developed with public money?

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