Medical Corruption: Drug industry turn pimps to boost profits.

[Guest guest]

Seductive medicines

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060130/asp/knowhow/story_5771231.asp

It’s clear that prescribing patterns of most doctors are “informed” not by

“evidence-based” science, but by market forces

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Potential recruits: Drug firms are hiring beauty queens Heard

about the latest coup in the world of pharmaceutical marketing? Probably not,

because the latest drug promotion strategy of hiring wannabe beauty queens and

cheerleaders is undergoing a trial run in the US. And once it clicks (early

reports say it’s already a hit!), doctors all over the world will be enticed by

nimble females to prescribe branded drugs with abandon — never mind the adverse

effects on patients.

It began with a report in the New York Times last November, which claimed in a

front page story that drug companies are recruiting women who are alluring,

rather than those academically sound. Research, quoted in the report, claimed

that seductive charms of sexy representatives have indeed boosted sagging sales

figures for many companies.

Quite expectedly, readers — but not the medical community — were shocked by

the story which shed light on yet another shady strategy by pharmaceutical

companies. It blew into a controversy, calling into question the ethics of a

$15.7 billion marketing business, and causing patients to worry about

prescriptions.

The medical community didn’t react to the news because they view sexy-drug

reps as simply a variation on seductive inducements like expensive gifts, lavish

dinners and speaking fees that pharma firms have dangled to sway doctors to

their brands. Until recently, drug promotion begun with an innocuous-looking pen

or a coffee mug. Then it graduated to sponsored meets and paid holiday trips.

And now the aggressive marketeers have no qualms in pushing sexual favours to

doctors. According to the NYT report, a big drug company is fighting lawsuit

filed by a saleswoman who has alleged that her bosses encourage her to exploit

personal relationship with doctors to increase sales. Another survey in the

report found that 12 out of 13 medical saleswomen had been sexually harassed by

physicians.

Three years ago, the British Medical Journal published a special issue on the

links between doctors and drug companies in which the cover had shown pigs in

white coats lunching with weasel drug reps. At the time, it seemed strong stuff

and there was a murmur of protests from the medical fraternity. But now new

revelations suggest that the reality is even worse. The power of the drug

companies to buy influence over the health care industry has crossed all limits.

Thanks to their lavish spending on shady marketing, little is invested on

research and development of new drugs. Furthermore, high-pitch sales tactics can

turn dangerous drugs like Vioxx into blockbusters.

It’s clear that prescribing patterns of most doctors are “informed” not by

“evidence-based” science, but by market forces. So why bother with doctors as

middlemen? Why not just license pretty young ladies prescribe directly to

patients?

PRASUN CHAUDHURI

 

 

" Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest

of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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