And no wonder. Drug companies are waging an increasingly sophisticated campaign to win doctors and patients, deploying an arsenal that includes lunch seminars for medical students, free drug samples, and ads aimed at consumers. Controlling the message. Drug companies say that the promotion educates patients and doctors about new treatment options. But studies confirm that the pitches can also persuade your doctor to choose new drugs that may be only marginally better, if at all, than existing ones, while overlooking higher costs and safety concerns.
Doctors are busier than ever, with little time to learn about new drugs on their own.
While most patients aren't in a position to second-guess their doctors, you can ask questions about costs and safety, and you'll be better prepared to do so if you know how the system works. The barrage of marketing begins when doctors are still in training. Medical students and residents are frequently fed lunch by drug reps in return for a chance to pitch products. The efforts intensify once physicians are in practice. And then there's the familiar strategy of sending a drug detailer to knock on the office door.