But can your doctor's appetite determine your prescription? Yes
A new study published Monday in the JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that pharmaceutical companies can subtly influence how doctors prescribe drugs with nothing more than the gift of a free meal.
The researchers analyzed the prescription records of physicians who were compensated through Medicare Part D in 2013 and cross-referenced them with data taken from the federal Open Payments Program and found a clear link:
Doctors who attended even a single industry-sponsored meal aimed at promoting these drugs prescribed them more often than those who skipped the meetings. And the more meals a doctor treated themselves to, and the more expensive they were, the more they prescribed the promoted drug.
Elsewhere, medical ethicists and watchdogs have repeatedly warned about the damaging effects that financial incentives can have on doctors’ ability to provide the best health care for their patients.
But they know the "long-throat" will NEVER END....lol.
Hiaan! I disagree wiv their findings abeg. I've attached a number of such gatherings & must confess d food is usually on point. But the fact is, food isn't enough (in fact it never comes to mind) to sway your thoughts when making prescriptions. What does the magic however is the drug reps' ability to defend their products in a gathering of intellectuals.
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