Blog Post

Pharmaceutical Companies Increasing Influence on Doctors


March 05, 2008
Topic: Pharmaceutical Liability

We've always known that drug companies use various tactics to get though to doctors to have them prescribe their medicines. Gifts aren't unheard of, and are commonly accepted as part of the trade. In the last month alone, we have seen a doctor, a medical pioneer in fact, do ad spots for a pharmaceutical company which was based on the false premise that he was in better shape than he actually is.

This connection between doctors and drug companies has always troubled consumer rights experts who fear that all this hobnobbing between doctors and drug companies can't be good for patients. Influence of the drug companies should be placed at a minimum, many believe, in order to guarantee independence of a doctor's judgment.

Now comes an Australian new report which points to the not so obvious ways that drug companies use to influence doctors. The report says that drug companies use another, somewhat devious method to influence doctors - by approving guests speaker who will speak at medical conferences.

The participation of drug companies in these August conferences is nothing new - drug companies routinely sponsor these conferences. That by itself is harmless enough. If they restrict their level of participation to decorating the venue with their posters, and adding a big welcome banner to the entrance, there can't be much harm in it. However, their participation, the report concludes, has definitely moved in recent times to a stronger role. Many of these companies make sure their preferred speakers are the speakers at these conferences. The speaker, chosen by the company, uses his address to drop names of the drug the company is trying to push in a blatant form of subliminal advertising.

This form of interference, in what should be independent medical education, is far from uncommon it appears, and shows the extent to which the drug industry has infiltrated the medical profession. Doctors attending these conferences are not made aware that the speaker has been suggested by the drug company, and here lies the debate. Medical experts say that doctors should be made aware that any address they are listening to is being made by a doctor who has been suggested by the drug company sponsoring the conference. It helps them keep an open mind about what they are listening to. If you were told that there might be some bias in what you were listening to, you might be inclined to be more alert to any influences.

The issue of sponsorship of medical conferences has come under scrutiny, with experts asking for a blind trust fund to sponsor continuing medical education. Some patient right experts have even suggested that tax payers could pay for advanced education of doctors.

We might not want to pin our hopes too highly on something like this happening in the near future though. The world's largest manufacturer, Pfizer, posted revenues of $48.6 billion in 2007. That kind of revenues depends, to a large extent, on spreading their influence on the doctors prescribing their drugs.

If you have suffered adverse side effects while using a dangerous drug, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury law firm. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.