Doctors are constantly inundated with incentives from drug companies who
advocate prescribing their products. However, residents of San Antonio
must be aware that the methods employed to influence doctors are a matter
of grave concern. Drug companies often use highly questionable processes
in getting doctors to prescribe drugs that may be improperly tested or even
defective.
Drug companies employ a wide variety of ways to infiltrate the medical
profession. They routinely give doctors expensive perks such as lavish
vacations or tickets to sporting events. These gifts are meant to nudge
the doctors into prescribing the company’s drugs. A doctor may be
less likely to scrutinize the quality of the drug produced by a company
he or she has a relationship with.
In addition, drug companies often utilize results of faux clinical tests
to influence doctors to prescribe certain drugs. A faux clinical test
is a test run by a drug company specifically to generate positive findings
for their own products. Unfortunately, doctors may be willing to believe
a faux test is legitimate because of their previously established relationship
with a given company.
The end result of not knowing the source of a clinical test can be tragic.
In one case, 772 doctors prescribed a drug called Neurontin on the basis
of faux clinical test results. Ultimately, the patients paid the price.
Eleven of the 2,759 original test subjects died, with 73 more fell victim
to severe adverse effects and nearly 1000 suffering less-severe side effects.
Doctors are human like everyone else and as such are not always immune
to manipulation. However, their decisions regarding the prescribing of
drugs can have long-lasting negative or even fatal consequences. If you
believe you or a family member have been adversely affected by a harmful
or defective drug, you should seek knowledgeable legal counsel. You owe
it to yourself to have problems properly looked into so as to determine
your best course of action.
Source: AlteNet.org, “5 Shady Ways Big Pharma May Be Influencing Your Doctor,” Martha Rosenberg, Jan. 23, 2014