This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you appreciate the content here, please consider supporting the newsletter by subscribing and/or sharing! I received the following question from reader Ximena: “I appreciate how you always look to find out how much money different doctors have taken from pharmaceutical companies but I’m wondering, is there any proof that these payments actually influence doctors?”
So glad you’re talking about this! And you’re absolutely right— pharma wouldn’t spend so much on advertising if it didn’t make them more money. Pharma hand picks pretty young things to peddle their wares, they teach them how to find doctors’ interests (favorite sports teams, favorite sandwiches, spouse & kids’ info, etc) so they can tailor their modest gifts and make the doctors feel special. It works.
Source: I used to work in pharma, and the book “Bad Pharma” by Ben Goldacre.
The education aspect really makes me uncomfortable. The gifts are clearly bribes, but when industry is tasked with educating providers on how to prescribe drugs or implant devices (like lap band or Essure— both of which ended catastrophically for patients), that’s not education at all. It’s pure unadulterated greed.
Yes! That last paragraph is exactly what I was thinking and am glad someone did the research to prove it and Ragen took the time to write it! Capitalism. These companies want to make money and would not spend a dime if it didn’t work. This is not charity and they aren’t doing out of the goodness their hearts. (My friend’s husband won an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii for winning sales for a related medical field. It wasn’t because they like him, it’s because that $10,000 trip was minuscule fraction of what he’d brought in during the time period, let alone indefinitely.) In my opinion, this should be illegal activity for pharmaceutical companies, especially when calling it CE.
I'm wondering how Kaiser Permanente adds drugs to its formulary. I'm picturing the notes my doctor will write if I ask, in my classic AuDHD abrupt style, whether she has visits from pharma reps (I'm hoping that takes place at the corporate level, if at all) and who influences her choice of prescriptions. The other thought in my feeble mind is that KP might be too cheap to add Wegovy to the list (sort of like they cheaped out on my late sister's cancer care by putting her on a wait list and then farming her out to another health system).
Yesterday I created a group for fat people in the Tampa Bay Area. We have 8 members so far. Please join us if you’re seeking a local community to share and find fat-inclusive resources and support.
PS Great essay, Raven! Absolutely right on! FDA has gradually cracked down on fancy events and amounts of gifts, but from the information you've gathered, clearly not enough.
So glad you’re talking about this! And you’re absolutely right— pharma wouldn’t spend so much on advertising if it didn’t make them more money. Pharma hand picks pretty young things to peddle their wares, they teach them how to find doctors’ interests (favorite sports teams, favorite sandwiches, spouse & kids’ info, etc) so they can tailor their modest gifts and make the doctors feel special. It works.
Source: I used to work in pharma, and the book “Bad Pharma” by Ben Goldacre.
The education aspect really makes me uncomfortable. The gifts are clearly bribes, but when industry is tasked with educating providers on how to prescribe drugs or implant devices (like lap band or Essure— both of which ended catastrophically for patients), that’s not education at all. It’s pure unadulterated greed.
And doctors get continuing education units for being brainwashed. Here's an example: https://primeinc.org/simulation/simclinic-managing-obesity
Yes! That last paragraph is exactly what I was thinking and am glad someone did the research to prove it and Ragen took the time to write it! Capitalism. These companies want to make money and would not spend a dime if it didn’t work. This is not charity and they aren’t doing out of the goodness their hearts. (My friend’s husband won an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii for winning sales for a related medical field. It wasn’t because they like him, it’s because that $10,000 trip was minuscule fraction of what he’d brought in during the time period, let alone indefinitely.) In my opinion, this should be illegal activity for pharmaceutical companies, especially when calling it CE.
I'm wondering how Kaiser Permanente adds drugs to its formulary. I'm picturing the notes my doctor will write if I ask, in my classic AuDHD abrupt style, whether she has visits from pharma reps (I'm hoping that takes place at the corporate level, if at all) and who influences her choice of prescriptions. The other thought in my feeble mind is that KP might be too cheap to add Wegovy to the list (sort of like they cheaped out on my late sister's cancer care by putting her on a wait list and then farming her out to another health system).
Unrelated comment
Yesterday I created a group for fat people in the Tampa Bay Area. We have 8 members so far. Please join us if you’re seeking a local community to share and find fat-inclusive resources and support.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1004345267485308/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF
I am beyond delighted of the red burning flag on the parapet metaphor and what an image to support warning ahead do not trust.
And here's another avenue for abuse: Pharma payments to FDA Advisory Committee members after drugs they advise upon are approved... https://www.science.org/content/article/hidden-conflicts-pharma-payments-fda-advisers-after-drug-approvals-spark-ethical
PS Great essay, Raven! Absolutely right on! FDA has gradually cracked down on fancy events and amounts of gifts, but from the information you've gathered, clearly not enough.
WOW. Thanks for this, Ragen, and for all the research you do!!!
Much appreciated research as always!