Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Buying A Doctor's Loyalty To A Drug Can Be As Cheap As $20 Meal
The Washington Post: How A Simple Sandwich Could Be Driving Up Drug Prices
Doctors who ate a single meal on a drug company's tab had a higher likelihood of writing a prescription for the name-brand drug that was being promoted instead of equivalent drugs that were cheaper, according to a new study. And the more meals — or the more expensive the meals — the greater the rate of prescribing the pitched drug. (Johnson, 6/20)
ProPublica: Feed Me, Pharma: More Evidence That Industry Meals Are Linked To Costlier Prescribing
The researchers did not determine if there was a cause-and-effect relationship between payments and prescribing, a far more difficult proposition, but their study adds to a growing pile of research documenting a link between the two. (Ornstein, 6/20)
The Associated Press: Rx Pizza: 1 Free Meal Can Sway Doctor Prescribing
The study highlights the subtle ways doctors may feel inclined to prescribe a drug after receiving just a small gift, even if the drug is more costly for patients and their insurance plans, the study authors said. (6/20)
Stat: Doctors Who Accepted Meals From Drug Makers Prescribed More Of Their Pills
The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, are likely to intensify an ongoing debate over the extent to which ties between drug makers and doctors unduly influence medical practice and the nation’s health care costs. The issue has resonated over the years as prices for prescription medicines continue to rise, and many drug companies have paid civil and criminal fines for illegal marketing and kickbacks designed to boost prescribing. (Silverman, 6/20)
San Francisco Chronicle: Even $20 Meals Can Sway Doctors, Study Finds
“We really don’t think that a $5 bagel sandwich is influencing a doctor or buying a prescribing pattern,” said Colette DeJong, a fourth-year UCSF medical student and co-author of the study. “Rather, we think our findings shift the conversation to say it’s not about the money, but more about the time spent between the doctor and drug representative.” (Colliver, 6/20)
The Wall Street Journal: Even Cheap Meals Influence Doctors’ Drug Prescriptions, Study Suggests
The industry association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said that the study “cherry-picks physician prescribing data for a subset of medicines to advance a false narrative” and that drugmakers interact with doctors to share drug safety and efficacy information. Critics say drugmakers’ payments and gifts to doctors can improperly influence medical decisions and inflate drug costs by steering doctors to pricey brand-name drugs. (Loftus, 6/20)
Bloomberg: Doctors Getting Free Meals Pick Branded Drugs More, Study Finds
The American Medical Association’s ethics guidelines state that physicians cannot accept any gifts of more than minimal value or for which reciprocity is expected or implied. The main industry association for drugmakers also places limitations on how companies may purchase meals for doctors. (Hopkins, 6/20)
NBC News: Free Lunches Pay Off For Drug Companies, Study Shows
There's a group called No Free Lunch that tries to wean doctors off the giveaways. "If you are a practicing physician, you are familiar with the following scenario: You need to start a patient on medication, but the patient has no insurance or prescription drug coverage, so you look to see what's in the 'sample closet.' Your first choice medication is not there (as it has been on the market for, say, longer than a month), so you give the patient a sample of what is there," it says. (Fox, 6/20)
