Cheap Meals From Big Pharma Can Make Doctors Prescribe Expensive Drugs

‘A number of factors should influence a doctor’s prescribing practices, from illness treatability to new research on drug effectiveness. There’s another less medically-based factor that may weigh just as heavily in a doctor’s prescribing habits: gifts from pharmaceutical sales representatives.
While numerous past studies suggest a troubling link between money spent on physicians by pharmaceutical salespeople and the increased likelihood that drug brands they peddle will be prescribed, new research concludes the price may be even cheaper than previously thought.
The survey finds that taking a doctor out for a single, relatively cheap meal raises the chances a physician will prescribe the expensive, name-brand drugs a rep is promoting over less costly generics. For already financially strapped patients without the money to make up the difference, the price may be going without the drugs they need.’
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