Odds Are The Drug Industry is Paying Off Your Doctor

March 7, 2004

Studies show that most doctors feel they are not influenced by free gifts and

perks from drug companies. They feel they are educated enough to recognize an ad

when they see it, and as this New York Times article says, many take on the

attitude of “if the drug companies are naïve enough to imagine that their

largess will buy my loyalty, then so be it--it is their gamble, and their loss.”

However, the drug companies are not likely to keep giving out freebies, ranging

from pens to expensive dinners to trips to exotic locations, if they aren’t

getting anything in return. Several studies have found that doctors are much

more likely to prescribe drugs they have been given free samples of.

Further, another study tracked doctors’ use of two drugs before and after

receiving a free trip for “educational” information. The researchers found that

prescriptions for the drug that was the subject of the trip more than tripled

while the use of other drugs remained the same.

This New York Times article exposes a pervasive problem in the medical

community--doctors are essentially paid off by the drug companies, and their

tactics are so commonplace that many doctors don’t even notice.

New York Times February 25, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

If you ever had any doubts that the drug companies are paying off your doctor

this New York Times article will erase them forever. It is a wonderful expose

that details how many doctors' beliefs that the freebies given to them by the

drug companies don't influence their prescribing habits is a major fantasy.

Virtually no doctors are escaping the subtle and not-so-subtle bribes the drug

companies are giving them. The drug companies are spending $15 billion a year,

or nearly $10,000 for each doctor, to influence their prescribing habits.

Folks, you are much smarter than that. Stay away from the drug model and seek

the truth with natural solutions that address the cause of your health

challenge. Restrict the use of drugs for symptoms in which you are in the

process of addressing the underlying cause.

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