blog.bioethics.net

Gee, we were carrying on about the Lilly stethescopes in medical school in 1969. I guess the world doesn't change much!

- by Frederick Stone on Jan 26, 2006 at 12:07 PM | link

The website for No Free Lunch, the student group that organizes in this area, is http://www.nofreelunch.org. Thanks for the NYTimes link.

- by Karama Neal on Jan 26, 2006 at 5:18 PM | link

It's not the lunches, pens and samples. What does anyone think is being bought with these? (BTW, even "rich" people don't like to buy 30 days of a new medicine if they don't know whether it will work. And I don't know what I'd do with out the starter kits for antidepressants.)
The problem isn't really the golf vacations, the stipends, and subsidies for research and publication.
The big money is at the level of hospital and managed care formularies. Even our State Medicaid program refused to consider any drug that didn't have a kickback/discount.

- by Beverly on Jan 26, 2006 at 11:58 PM | link

I hate to say it but in rural clinics the population depends on the drug companies to provide stock bottles of meds and samples for patients who can't even get to a pharmacy much less pay for the medication.
Its physicians who use their patient office hours to dwadle with drug reps thats infuriating, especially on PPO's. Many will gladly see them during lunch, or even after hours..so one hand washes the other.

- by JEL on Jan 27, 2006 at 7:24 PM | link

When I see the lunches, free samples, advertising paraphenalia, etc that drug reps spend just on my ICU it makes me wonder about the volumes spent nationwide by these drug companies. I think the free samples are great for those who can't afford the meds, but the reason those same people probably can't afford the meds is directly related to the expenses drug companies acquire with all their promotional materials. It's a catch 22.

- by Karrah on Jan 28, 2006 at 4:06 PM | link

When I see the lunches, free samples, advertising paraphenalia, etc that drug reps spend just on my ICU it makes me wonder about the volumes spent nationwide by these drug companies. I think the free samples are great for those who can't afford the meds, but the reason those same people probably can't afford the meds is directly related to the expenses drug companies acquire with all their promotional materials. It's a catch 22.

- by Karrah on Jan 28, 2006 at 4:06 PM | link

I think to much money gets wasted on lunches and gifts to persuade doctors to use there product. Instead of wasting this money,which I am sure we would all be blown away by the dollar amount wasted each year, the drug companies could take this money and either use it toward more samples for the doctors to give out to the patient to help save cost or use the money toward the cost of making the drugs so that it is cheaper for the consumer. Either way this would benefit the consumer who really needs the drug and doesn't have a choice and has to buy it.

- by Desiree on Jan 28, 2006 at 4:56 PM | link

Are you crazy? Free samples are an amazing way in which to help low-income families. I know which drug companies provide what samples and which doctors are willing to provide them in my area. Maybe we should look again at the whole picture? And the free programs provided by these companies are a wonderful way to enhance our knowledge. I can't afford to attend various functions out of my own pocket, but I can attend a variety of lectures and process the information, decide where the biases are, and gain some wonderful knowledge.

- by Amy Winger on Jan 29, 2006 at 11:49 AM | link

This article has
an uncanny resemblance to an earlier one in AJOB that it does not cite!

- by Jim Coyne on Jan 29, 2006 at 11:59 AM | link

Free lunches, pens, paper and mini calculators are great. Anyone in healthcare knows that when the drug rep sets up his/her table in the lobby, that staff will swarm for the free stuff. The dinners, with the informative speaker who tells you how their drug will benefit your patients are great! But do they really entice practitioners to prescribe the drugs? Probably not. The most enticing perk. that insurance companies supply are the free samples. I say, cut out the free stuff. Make healthcare workers buy their own pens! Give more free samples of your drugs and lower prices! If the drug is effective, sales will go up. A quality product will sell itself.

- by Judy Northrop on Jan 29, 2006 at 7:16 PM | link

Free samples are an invaluable resource in both rural and suburban areas. Particularly in my rural area, patients rely heavily on the free samples that are available. In emergency situations they are a life saver. The various free programs the drug companies offer are also an invaluable resource in our rural area. Many employers don't offer outservice training and the added expense for the employee isn't possible. These incentives also are driving force behind many community outreach programs and attract patients to programs they may not otherwise be very interested in......a free meal is always a good draw.

- by Kris Ghering on Jan 30, 2006 at 12:10 PM | link

I worked in at a practice where we got 'free lunch' 3-4 times/week - an office that employed 12 full-timers and we were all fed, not just the physician's. It was ridiculous! The amount of money that is spent for lunches and the amount of seniors and working American's that cannot afford their medicine makes me sick! Should people have to cut pills in half? Skip meds they need? Live without necessities? The amount of money spent on free meals could provide how many people their meds? The physicians spent a few minutes at best with the drug-rep and the free lunch made very little if any impact on prescribing the med. (especially from the receptionist, transcriptionist, and lab tech).

- by M J Nick on Jan 30, 2006 at 8:41 PM | link

I think the free lunches tend to get out of hand. I work in an ICU and drug reps used to come with lunch for the nurses. We really didn't have the time to sit and listen that often. I'll be honest, we just wanted a good, free, hot meal. The money they spend on meals should go towards helping out less forntuate people who can't afford that med. As for giving samples to doctors, go for it!! The prices these days are so out of hand. It's sad seeing some of these elderly people where they don't go on something because they can't afford it. However, the hospital I work at has banned drug reps!

- by LeahChim on Jan 30, 2006 at 10:15 PM | link

Sample medications are a need in doctors offices. Most of the patients we deal with are uninsured, or do not have prescription coverage. It becomes a moral issue when doctors are persuade to use drugs based on what gifts or incentives a drug company is providing them. At our facility we have a lunch about once a month. Our physicans are very open about the use or nonuse of a particular product. They physicans are more concerned if the medication is covered on drug plans our patient have who do have insurance. Without sample medications many patients would not have access to life saving drugs. Aslo samples proived the patients access to new medications that come on the market. They cam benefit from them without having to worry about the immediate cost issue, while allow the physician to asses if the medication is right for the paitent before they pay alost of money for a drug that doesn't work for them. There are many drug companies who aslo have indigent programs for the low income. These programs are priceless to so many patients, and we ultiize them often. So there is some good benefits from pharmecutical companies.

- by Erika Still on Jan 31, 2006 at 12:10 PM | link

I spent years working at an expensive steakhouse, and the money that the pharmaceutical companies spent in one evening for a group of 10 doctors was more then my college tuition. It was frustrating to watch, when my grandmother was barely able to afford her monthly prescriptions. There may be regulations now regarding the amount of "gifts" allowed for doctors, but the money is now just being shifted into less obvious areas. I have noticed that many doctors have begun boycotting these elaborate dinners, instead becoming proponents for more free samples and education.

- by Rebecca Ranson on Jan 31, 2006 at 5:34 PM | link

I think it's wrong the amount of money that is spent on senseless dinners and handouts. Although we all swarm to get as much of it as we can, do you really stop and think, this is the reason the price of the medications are so high. We are basically paying for these drug companies to send there representitives out and waste money to try and get a sale. The bad part is a lot of times they will drop handouts or food off and you don't even get any informitive teaching. I think for the price you pay for medications, free samples of the meds shouldn't even be a question, it should just be a given.

- by Aimee on Feb 4, 2006 at 7:15 PM | link

I look at all the pens and tablets that are all over the CCU where I work. It amazes me, I think about all the money that is wasted. That money could be going to give free samples to the people that can not afford a script that would cost them $300.00 without insurance.

- by Stacey on Feb 9, 2006 at 3:19 PM | link

I know when I am started on a new med I like to try the sample to make sure there will be no adverse reactions and that the med will help, rather than paying an outrageous price for something that gets thrown out. There are so many patients that are unable to afford the costs of their medications and rely on samples given by the physician. I think the biggest problem does not lie within the gifts and trips given to physicians, but the outrageous costs of prescriptions. I'm sure part of these profits is what is financing these gifts. If a medication is truly a good one and is able to get the results needed, the pharmacutical companies should not have to "pursue" physcians to prescribe them.

- by C.Wolbert on Feb 13, 2006 at 10:52 PM | link