This is only one example. Far more common are office visits from pharmaceutical representatives offering free samples and industry support for CME programs. As much as physicians may protest that they emerge from such marketing barrages unscathed, recent literature paints a different picture. A study in the Jan. 19 Journal of the American Medical Association found that physicians' dealings with pharmaceutical companies do change their prescribing and professional behaviors. Although the type or degree of behavior change varied according to the specific interaction, overall, physicians were more likely to prescribe the company's drug regardless of any demonstrable benefit over similar drugs and more apt to request that it be added to their hospital's formulary.
Patients often view such interactions as inappropriate.
A study in the March 1998 Journal of General Internal Medicine found that more than one-third of patients surveyed believe acceptance of any industry gift obligates a physician to prescribe that company's drug. FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.