Texas Insurance Shoppers

SMDC health systems in MN has decided to walk the walk when it comes to commitment to lowering drug costs and avoiding a conflict of interests between patient needs and pharmaceutical sales tactics. The hospital system has rounded up all the promotional pharmaceutical gizmos and gadgets – and 18,781 of them – and will be sending them to Cameroon in West Africa. The loot includes clipboards, pens, notepads, coffee mugs, etc – all decked out with drug company names and logos. There isn’t expected to be a conflict of interests at the medical centers in Cameroon where the stuff is headed, since the advertised drugs aren’t available there.

Research has shown that even cheap gifts like pens and paper have an influence on doctors prescribing habits. It makes sense that if a doctor sees a particular drug name every time she looks at her desk, she will be more likely to think of that drug when it comes time to write a prescription.

I applaud SMDC’s clean sweep approach. It’s high time that pharmaceutical companies stopped being able to worm their way into doctor’s offices with gifts and lunches and trinkets. Medical treatment should be a collaboration between the patient and the doctor. Health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies have way too much of an influence on treatment protocol, and the focus needs to shift back to looking at what is in the patient’s best interest. If a generic drug will do the job just as well as a name brand, it’s to the patient’s financial advantage to prescribe the generic. And pharmaceutical reps who tell doctors otherwise really have no place in the offices.

I hope that SMDC’s idea catches on. It would be nice to see hospitals and doctors across Texas and the rest of the country turning away from pharmaceutical company gifts and freebies, and focusing instead on the peer-reviewed research about new drugs. That seems like the best way to provide quality patient care while minimizing conflicts of interest.

No Comments »