According to a recent study, American doctors who accept free meals from drug companies are more likely to prescribe the brand-name drugs of these companies to patients. Due to the Medicare plan, brand name drugs are up to eighty times more expensive than a generic brand, making this a lucrative business. Thanks, Obama.
OBAMA RESPONSIBLE FOR BRIBERY
In the study, doctors who receive just one free meal, valued at less than $20 on average were up to twice as likely to prescribe a brand-name drug than the generic alternative. When it came to getting multiple meals, doctors were three times more likely to prescribe these drugs compared to doctors who did not accept a meal at all. Additional meals and pricier fare were also linked with higher prescribing rates of the promoted drug. Essentially, the fate of whether patients receive a brand name drug lies in the amount and quality of meals their doctor is getting.
THANKS OBAMA
Due to Obama’s Medicare plan, the median copay is $1 for generic drugs and up to $40 and $80 for brand-name. Brand-name companies stand to make a large profit if they push for their drug over the generic and it seems they getting creative in their methods. According to the senior study author Dr. Adams Dudley, it’s not necessarily the value of the gift that motivates these doctors. It’s more like a feeling of guilt. Doctor’s feel they owe the drug rep something since they’ve been treated well by them. Whether they are conscious or not, they then promote the brand-name drugs to their patients.
IT’S NOT ALL OBAMA’S FAULT
Obama is not entirely to blame for the misconduct of doctors and drug companies. It’s a conflict of the system. If drug manufacturers were to stop sending money and emails to doctors in order to push their product, there would be more money to invest in research on safety and affordability. Lowering the profits isn’t something anyone wants to do but patients and the American health care system would be much better off. Payments for food and beverages to doctors totaled $224.5 million in 2014. Odds are, that money could be put to better use.
