The doctors' group, which boasts 12,000 members, has joined a growing number ofacademic medical centers, professional societies and legislators that have decided gifts from the pharmaceutical industry are questionable, if not unacceptable forms of influence.
The Wisconsin Medical Society adopted a policy on October 11 that says: "Physicians shall accept no gifts from any provider of products that they prescribe to their patients such as personal items, office supplies, food, travel and time costs, or payment for participation in online continuing medical education. A complete ban eases the burdens of compliance, biased decision making, and patient distrust." This is the complete policy, which was disclosed this past Thursday.
In a statement, WMS president Steven Bergin says: "This policy is strong and clear. It leaves no doubt that the society’s physicians want to prevent even the impression that a gift–no matter how small–could get in the way of a physician’s decision-making.
"This policy simply puts the Wisconsin Medical Society on record that individual physicians should take a bright line approach to accepting items from companies that make products or drugs that the physician might end up prescribing or recommending to his or her patients. There’s nothing more sacred than the physician-patient relationship, and we physicians have the responsibility to make sure nothing gets in the way of that relationship–or even appears to get in the way.”
10 Comments
I'm very pleased that Wisconsin (a) recognizes that marketing does affect prescribing and (b) is willing to make a move that is unpopular with many physicians to do something about it.
Why not go all the way and ban insurance scorecards to physicians which pay them to prescribe sub-optimal therapy. It's a joke anyone who understands the industry knows where the problem lies. Do a prior auth and you will see how little insurance companies care for a patient.
Congratulations for taking such a brave, and wise, stand.
This sounds like a great start, and kudos for Wisconsin Medical Society for doing this. However, this only covers "gifts" and says nothing about payments for giving talks, participating in studies or what ever else doctors do to get money from pharma.
I won't be spending the time needed to study their new policy, but my concern is this: what are the loopholes, work-arounds and uncovered areas that pharma can drive their money-truck through?
Another stupid, wasted, superfluous policy.
The PhRMA code that almost every company has now adopted already has all this. Except for the short-sighted policy Wisconsin has put forward of not allowing Wisconsin doctors to teach in medical education organized by companies. Basically a restriction on freedom of speech.
If you read this policy, it reads more like a mini philosophy dissertation than anything else.
I happened to be in a doc's office the other day that had just heard there would be no more gifts from reps (a new policy at this center).
What I mainly noticed was the despair of the office staff. There was, indeed, wailing about actually having to buy pens, notepads, and clipboards.
Scandalous.
So.... Wisconsin physicians are influenced by a cheap pen and/or a sub sandwich....! Doesn't say much for the thinking ability and quality of Wisconsin physicians, does it!
1 to think doctors are driven to prescribe by a pen and food what a joke!
2 the policy states that you may not interact with the companies but make sure to take the money to help your hospital or school
3 what ever happened to free trade in america? the ability to interact and market any product.
4 do you understand the amount of free drug given away every year and how you are hurting patient how need the samples.
5 on that note how much the pharma industrie supports medical colleges and hospitals because the government money is not there nor are insurance companies paying even enough to cover cost.
6 good luck to the communist in shutting out industry. go to canida or mexico for your health care.
man i could go on....
1) Yes, physicians are impervious to marketing. And pharma companies are just idiots for wasting billions of dollars (roughly $60K/year to each physician) in marketing. I guess pharma companies musn't do market research!
2) Ummm ok.
3) Ok. Healthcare is a product. I am a service provider. If I give an extra good rectal exam, do I get a tip?
4) Middle class and upper class patients mainly get samples, not poor patients. This is a common misperception. Why would pharma give away drugs to poor people who could never afford them?
5) I don't think pharma needs to be funneling the money to educate physicians. If it is underfunded (mine wasn't, and had no pharma money), then there are better places to find a solution.
6) Canada has superior medical care than the US. My canadian friends shudder in fear when they travel to the US afraid they will get sick.
man i could go on...
For those who believe that Canada has a superior medical system to the US, here are some publically available median wait times for common surgical procedures performed in British Columbia (in weeks):
-Breast Biopsy: 11.6 -Mastectomy: 31.0 -Coronary Bypass: 14.6 -Brain surgwery: 5.4 -Thyroid surgery: 26.4 -Open heart surgery: 10.1 -Hernia: 53.9 -Shoulder surgery: 51.3 -Knee replacement: 55.7 -Prostate surgery 29.1 -Kidney stone removal: 30.0 -Biopsy for cervical cancer: 19.0 -Spinal surgery: 64.4 -Ovarian surgery: 60.9 -Hip replacement: 45.5 -Bladder surfery: 55.3
Nuff said.