Overmedicated America: Reason One (continued)

NYTimes has an article out today called, Dr. Drug Rep. Its one psychiatrist's revealing story of working for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals on the side to promote certain antidepressants. Such blatant drug-pushing and doctor-marketing makes us more susceptible to taking stuff we shouldn't, or even choosing dietary, exercise or behavioral alternatives instead.

Paying attention to what outcomes are being looked at is extremely important. Mortality vs. survival rates, remission vs. response rates all make a difference in how one's study comes out. When big money is involved, there's no reason to quote results on all outcomes, just the ones that are convincing. Dr. Calter from the article elaborates...

"In his study, he emphasized the remission rates and not the response rates. As I listened to his presentation, I wondered why. Was it because he felt that remission was the only really meaningful outcome by which to compare drugs? Or was it because using remission made Effexor look more impressive than response did?"

Below are some further quotes that might entice a full read.

"Was I swallowing the message whole? Certainly not. I knew that this was hardly impartial medical education, and that we were being fed a marketing line. But when you are treated like the anointed, wined and dined in Manhattan and placed among the leaders of the field, you inevitably put some of your critical faculties on hold."

"How many doctors speak for drug companies? We don’t know for sure, but one recent study indicates that at least 25 percent of all doctors in the United States receive drug money for lecturing to physicians or for helping to market drugs in other ways."

"The term “decile 6” is drug-rep jargon for a doctor who prescribes a lot of medications. The higher the “decile” (in a range from 1 to 10), the higher the prescription volume, and the more potentially lucrative that doctor could be for the company."

"The American Medical Association is also a key player in prescription data-mining. The A.M.A. licenses its file of U.S. physicians, allowing the data-mining companies to match up D.E.A. numbers to specific physicians. The A.M.A. makes millions in information-leasing money."

"At that moment, I decided my career as an industry-sponsored speaker was over. The manager’s message couldn’t be clearer: I was being paid to enthusiastically endorse their drug. Once I stopped doing that, I was of little value to them, no matter how much “medical education” I provided."