Drug Companies and Doctors in Cohoots -- and You Thought Wall Street Was Bad?
(this post updated October 14, 2008)
Too often, when the doctor writes us patients a prescription, the person who will benefit from the drug is the prescribing doctor, and not necessarily us.
This is not news to too many, but this recent exposé by Gardiner Harris in the New York Times and another by David Armstrong in the Wall Street Journal will make your toenails curl. And it makes the shenanigans on the part of Wall Street's robber barons seem almost -- dull.
It seems one Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff, of Emory University, has been raking in millions of dollars from 21 different drug companies, all the while denying he was making that money, and blatantly lying about it.
Even his colleagues are aghast.
Here's how this affects you. This crook has put his well-sought-out stamp of approval on all kinds of research, and has written about that research in journals, without disclosing his financial ties. Of course, it's all about the money.
He has sold his soul for greed and corruption -- and no longer can any of his research conclusions be believed -- meaning -- some of the drugs YOU may be taking may not be what they are supposed to be. Not only does that put your health at risk, but your insurance has been paying for them, too -- meaning -- your healthcare wallet is at risk, too.
I wonder how long it will take to find out that someone has died at this man's hands?
He joins a number of other exposed physicians and researchers -- people who have lied about the money they have accepted from pharma, including Dr. Melissa P. DelBello from the University of Cincinatti, Dr. Timothy E. Wilens and Dr. Joseph Biederman from Harvard, and Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg of Stanford.
A few days ago, I wrote about two pharmaceutical companies that are beginning to disclose how much they are paying to doctors -- Eli Lilly and Merck. That's a step in the right direction.
Further, Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has introduced a bill to the US Senate called the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (2007) that requires that both physicians and drug makers disclose all money changing hands.
But until we have transparency from everyone -- truthful assessments of where the money is being passed around -- patients will continue to be at risk, all for the greed of others.
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Photo © flashon / iStockphoto.com
Comments
I am extremely impressed with the information and format you present. As the daughter of a parent living with brain cancer, I have learned the hard way, as has my mother, that doctors cannot be trusted when it comes to the drugs they are giving you. When my mother went on anti-seizure medication for her tumor, she was given the newest drug because it was being pushed (not that she knew it at the time). After several months of horrible side effects we decided to research this particular drug and found out that it has been doing the same to others and is not a good medication at all. Didn’t stop the doctors from pushing it over tried and true medications that are known to work. And they did this all for the money…
Thanks for the info.
jh
Always great information, keep up the good work! This year’s first-quarter FDA report is out and shows a 38% jump in serious drug reactions. There were nearly 21,000 problems reported including 4,800 deaths. As you said, it’s all about the money.
please clarify your statement, especially the first one. while it is true that some physicians receive grants/payments from pharmaceutical companies, and a very few of those are dishonest (there are bad people in every profession), most doctors really do care about their patients and have their best interests at heart. Most physicians receive absolutely nothing from the drug companies (we don’t even get pads and pens anymore). doctors are caught inbetween a rock and a hard place: time constraints (insurance companies pay very little for time spent listening to/counseling a patient, even though this is the most important part of a doctor patient relationship) and patient perceptions that a pill will fix anything. the best medicine in most cases is to live healthier–stop smoking, exercise, eat better. so please clarify your statements, and don’t condemn a lot of good people because of a few bad eggs.
The above MD is not telling the truth, or has made all of his Pharm Reps mad. I am a Pharm Rep. The quirks that doctors receive range from very nice dinners (with a guest speaker to make it legal), families included, to thousands in grant money. Some of the grant money is more of a gift than for doing actual work. The “grant receivers” usually work at university hospitals.
Conventions are held and sponsored by Pharmaceutical manufacturers at very nice vacation locales.
All Reps have budgets allocated to “entertain” doctors in many ways, from pens to dinners and more.
That’s the truth.
Keep up the great work
MD and Pharm Rep,
In fact, the truth lies somewhere between your posts. MD, you are right. Not all doctors receive gifts. There are those who refuse them. There is also legislation in some states that will make some of the giveaways illegal beginning in 2009. Pharm Rep, you are right, too. That many of these “giveaways” are simply being couched as something else. And, it’s fair that pharm companies be allowed to market their drugs, too. But as long as there are huge incentives for providers to prescribe one drug over another, or a drug that is priced beyond what can be justified, then the violations are hurting patients. And that is not acceptable.
Trisha