“Drug reps exploit doctors’ sense of reciprocal obligation by leaving small gifts and buying meals, which are accepted by 70% of practicing physicians each year. Even a single meal worth no more than twenty dollars provided by a drug company significantly increases doctors’ prescribing of brand-name drugs that are no more effective than drugs of the same class available as low-cost generics. A review article found all the studies that explored the effect of industry gifts and payments showed a positive effect on physicians’ prescribing. Drug reps are trained to engage doctors in encounters by storing personal information about their interests, children and marital status and by using scientific language to sound knowledgeable.”
John Abramson, MD, BSc, “sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It”, Mariner Books 2022.
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