SEATTLE: Puget Sound Health Alliance directors voted unanimously this week in calling for hospitals and physician clinics to bar pharmaceutical sales representatives from pitching doctors and giving patients free drug samples.
The alliance is a nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of health care. Its some 100 members include The Boeing Co., Puget Sound Energy, Washington Mutual Inc. and Starbucks Corp.
The alliance believes that banning drug company sales reps will improve the quality of patient care by removing biased information about medications.
"The Alliance encourages everyone to recognize pharmaceutical sales rep visits, free samples and other marketing items for what they are -- efforts to increase the sales of specific drugs," said Alliance Executive Director Margaret Stanley.
Said Dr. Ralph Rossi, president of The Polyclinic in Seattle, "We encourage doctors to get the latest information about effectiveness of brand-name and generic drugs from unbiased sources with no vested interest in treatment decisions other than good health outcomes."
Some Seattle hospitals, according to the alliance, already have limited or eliminated sales reps and free drug samples: Harborview Medical Center, Virginia Mason Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center.
Two large multispecialty medical practices have barred sales reps for some time. The Everett Clinic banned them in 1998, and The Polyclinic shut the door in 2003.
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4 comments:
Well said,i applaud your blog,mental health consumers are the least capable of self advocacy,my doctors made me take zyprexa for 4 years which was ineffective for my symptoms.I now have a victims support page against Eli Lilly for it's Zyprexa product causing my diabetes.--Daniel Haszard www.zyprexa-victims.com
I'd be scared to death of any physician that didn't talk to drug reps.
I overheard a doc once telling a patient to cut the tablet in half. The problem is that the tablet is an OROS tablet. I told the nurse and she grabbed the doc. I told him about OROS and he said he really needed to listen to drug reps more.
Yes, we like to promote our product, but we are constant reminders of accurate information too. Things like OROS, Pregnancy category, etc. There is no grand conspiracy to lie about pregnancy category. I know nut jobs like Marcia Angell thinks so. But then she lost all her credibility when she said older statins were just as good as newer ones. Hey, I take Crestor and don't even work for Astra Zeneca.
It is quite amazing that without the pharma industry doctors would be hard pressed to practice medicine, those who are anti industry should go back to extemps and leave everyone else alone.Let the individual doctor decide and give them the credit for being able to seperate truth from hyperbole!
I can imagine the campaign now...
"Just say no to drugs*"
Dr Benedict
* Samples that is
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