When I was in high school, I had the coolest pen – it was
silver, sleek, and wrote smoothly. On one side, however, there was the logo for
a prescription drug. I had no idea what the drug was or what it did, but it had
come from a friend whose mother was a nurse. Years later, I dated a guy whose
mother was also a nurse. She would come home with pens, hats, electronic
organizers, bags, and more from the various pharmaceutical companies that
visited her office.
While I thought these trinkets were fun, I hadn't given much
thought to the pharmaceuticals that they represented. I guess I was part of the
problem, because now the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
(PhRMA) are concerned that giving out these freebies can foster misconceptions
that drug companies aren't interested in informing physicians about scientific
and medical issues. The PhRMA has even established a voluntary code of conduct
that now prohibits these "non-educational" items.
In Minneapolis,
a Duluth-based operator of hospitals and clinics –SMDC Health System – purged
the trinkets that had been given to the hospital over the years. It took 20
shopping carts to take all of the stuff away! SMDC's efforts were designed to
show patients that their doctors are serious about controlling costs and making
unbiased decisions. The backlash against free gifts and food is the result of
2006 article from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which
claimed that receiving even cheap gifts can affect how a doctor prescribes
medication.
From the JAMA article, "The Prescription Project" was born.
This project is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts in an effort to counter
aggressive marketing campaigns to physicians by the pharmaceutical and medical
industries. Marica Hams, director of the Prescription Project, hopes that other
medical facilities follow the lead of SMDC Health System. ""This seems like a
pretty aggressive way to kick off a policy like that…it sends an important
message, I think, for how a strict policy can be implemented in an effective
way", she said.
Although the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America aren't asking all hospitals to take this "clean sweep" approach, the
PhRMA isn't opposed to it either. As spokesman Ken Johnson says, "the onus is
on us now to do a better job of explaining the job and the importance of
marketing representatives."
Like some of the organizations mentioned in this article, I
think the "clean sweep" method is very aggressive. However, I can see the
purpose behind it. Most people like free things, and providing pens, toys, etc.
is just another way to get a company name or drug nestled in the back of
people's minds. What do you think?
Resources:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/for-doctors-no-more-drug-company-trinkets/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22756905/
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/19/minn_health_system_purges_drug_trinkets/
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