USA Today Looks at How Drug Makers’ ‘Lavish’ Marketing to Doctors Drives Up Drug Costs

Pharmaceutical companies have long offered "freebies" to doctors, ranging from pens and notepads to "lavish dinners and trips," as incentives for physicians to take the time to listen to company "sales pitches" or to attend focus groups on prescription drugs, USA Today reports. Drug makers say these marketing efforts are designed to inform physicians about new drugs and products, but critics say the practice has contributed to the 19% increase in pharmaceutical spending last year. Drug representatives say the efforts are a way to provide more detailed information about the companies' drugs to physicians. Bill Bly, president of the Tulsa Pharmaceutical Representative Association, said that dinners and lunches are "[o]ften the only way" to get time with physicians. He said, "Business is business. If companies were slipping money under the table to doctors, that would be one thing. These are legitimate programs. They're getting a nice meal. We're utilizing their time for a legitimate purpose." Many doctors agree, saying the drug representatives offer "important information" that they may not have the "time or ability" to find elsewhere. The American Medical Association, which has guidelines stipulating that doctors should not accept "items of substantial value" from the pharmaceutical industry, is about to begin an educational campaign about the guidelines, but USA Today reports that "it, too has run into controversy: The effort is being underwritten by drug companies" (Appleby, USA Today, 5/16).