i ran across this article in the local newspaper and we, at the
newsgroup, have made references to particular type of drug or treatment
over another, as doctors will do, when you go for their advice.  what
makes this article is even intriguing.

we all think that the drug companies are spending a lot on tv and media
advertising to get the individual to ask for a particular drug by name.
well, read this article and see how much MORE the drug companies give
the medical staff and professional side.

~ curtis
===============
authors  - joe and teresa graedon of the people's pharmacy - dated 8 - 2
- 03

---------

they say there is no such thing as a free lunch.  that might be true for
most of us, but if you work in a doctor's office, free lunches are
standard fare.

if you're a doctor, free dinners also might be part of the deal.  that's
because drug companies spend BILLIONS of dollars to get doctor's
attention, and food is a great inducement.

pharmaceutical drug representatives take pizza, tacos, or other goodies
to hospitals, clinics, or offices.  this allows them to nurture
relationships with important gatekeepers such as receptionists or
nurses.  the rep's reward?  they get to talk to a busy doctor for a few
minutes.

there are now 90,000 of these sales professionals knocking on doctor's
doors.  more than $12 billion is devoted to this effort, compared to 3
billion spent on television and magazine ads aimed at consumers.

does all this wining and dining work?  the drug industry knows that
face-to-face contact affects prescribing patterns.

most physicians maintain that they are not swayed by food, trinkets or
junkets to medical meetings in exotic locales.  but the data disagree.
research suggests that doctors are just like other humans.  they respond
to gifts and attention.

according to an analysis published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (jan.19m 2000), doctors, who attend continuing
medical education events hosted by a pharmaceutical company end up
prescribing more of the sponsor's drugs.  this is especially true when
the company pays for travel and lodging.

of course, there really is no free lunch.  the tab is ultimately chared
to patients who must pay for their medicines.  in the past decade,
prescription prices have skyrocketed.  part of that increase comes from
all the drug ads you  see on television.  but more comes from the
intense one-on-one marketing efforts made the pharmaceutical sales
force.

a good drug-company rep can earn more than 100,000 per year and many
companies employ thousands of them.

patients should get the best medicine for their particular condition
based on objective data, not because a salesperson delivered drug
samples and pizza the week before.  perhaps it's time for doctors to
realize that their patients are paying a steep price for all those free
lunches.

==========

there's another interesting article on the high cost of marketing and
misleading the public

http://www.therubins.com/geninfo/advertise.htm

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc