As a general rule, you should be following medical directives from your doctors. But, you also want to make that your doctors are prescribing the drugs you need, not the drugs that the pharmaceutical industry is pushing them to prescribe. Too often Pharma plays a major role in the drugs Americans are prescribed and it’s not in your interest, reports Dennis Thompson for Health Day.
New research finds that pharmaceutical companies are quite successful at influencing the prescribing practices of many doctors. Pharmaceutical companies employ thousands of people throughout the country to visit physician practices, buy staff lunch, and promote their drugs. It also pays docs–directly and through gifts–to prescribe their drugs.
The data from 39 studies of nearly four million physicians show that Pharma’s marketing pays off in spades. Doctors who receive these visits and gifts are inclined to prescribe more costly brand-name drugs, even when they are not appropriate or there are lower-cost generic alternatives available. As you might imagine, the drugs Pharma promotes tend to be expensive.
Doctors who receive these visits and gifts also tend to prescribe more drugs, according to the data. What does this all mean?
Because Pharma can do door-to-door marketing direct to physicians, physicians prescribe more drugs and more costly drugs. Our nation’s health care spending rises, unnecessarily. And, Americans spend more out-of-pocket on copays and deductibles, even when a generic prescription will treat their condition at little or no cost.
What should you do? Check to see whether your doctor takes money from Pharma. About half of all doctors do. Some health systems prevent their doctors from taking gifts from Pharma. The Open Payments database should tell you what you need to know. If your doctor does accept gifts from the pharmaceutical industry, ask the doctor about lower-cost alternatives to the drugs you’re prescribed.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Drugs with high prices are often no better than lower-cost drugs
- Online pharmacies can save you money
- New nonprofit manufactures low-cost generics
- Will drug companies ever stop their misleading ads?
- To save money on drugs, avoid chain pharmacies
