JAMA Internal Medicine published a study which found physicians who received one free meal from a pharmaceutical company were more prone to prescribe the company's drug than physicians who did not receive a free meal, according to Wall Street Journal.
In the study, researchers analyzed government data which tracked industry payments to physicians and physicians' Medicare Part D prescriptions for the elderly. The investigators also looked at 2013 payments and prescriptions linked to brand-name cardiovascular drugs and one antidepressant, each of which had less costly alternatives. The drugs investigators examined include:
• AstraZeneca PLC's cholesterol-lowering Crestor
• Allergan PLC's Bystolic treatment for high blood pressure
• Daiichi Sankyo's Benicar for high blood pressure
• Pfizer's Pristiq
Here are nine key notes:
1. The study found physicians who received one meal linked to Crestor promotion were 18 percent more likely to choose Crestor over a less costly alterative.
2. Additionally, physicians were 70 percent more likely to prescribe Bystolic, Benicar (52 percent) and Pristiq (118 percent) when they received a free meal.
3. However, the study did find the likelihood of a physician prescribing Pristiq decreased after the third day of obtaining a free meal.
4. After facing criticism that providing physicians payments and gifts wrongly influences medical decisions and increases drug costs, many pharmaceutical companies have scaled back on such bonuses. PhRMA implemented a voluntary code in 2002 which detailed how to form relationships with physicians and what is appropriate to provide.
5. PhRMA's code allows 'modest' meals for physicians, enabling drug-sales representatives to provide food and beverages to physicians to pitch their drug. Additionally, representatives frequently invite physicians to free dinners, during which they promote a specific drug.
6. While many claim the free meals allow physicians to become more educated about new medicine's appropriate use, past studies have illustrated even small payments or gifts are linked to a higher frequency of prescribing for promoted brands.
7. The study's findings may contest the idea sales reps are educating physicians, as physicians may feel pressure to reciprocate, thus impacting their prescribing certain drugs.
8. A study author argued pharmaceutical companies could better spend their money on medical research for innovative medicine, rather than using that money to fuel the "tensions between the profits of healthcare companies, the independence of physicians and the integrity of our work and the affordability of medical care."
9. In response to the study's findings, Pfizer said the company does not compensate healthcare professionals to prescribe its drugs, and Allergan did not issue any comments.
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