There has been a lot of talk recently in the news about how money spent on prescription drugs has increased 3% in 2013, which results to about $329.2 billion. Those are astonishing numbers, now if you take that number and you divide it by how many people live in the US, that works out to be about $1,000 per person spent on prescription drugs. Since doctors hold the key in prescribing drugs, some doctors are prescribing certain drugs that pharmaceutical companies are requesting them to prescribe even thought that drug might not be the best for their patient given their condition. This in so many ways are unethical because the patient would most likely depend and trust what the doctor is prescribing to them but little do they know, that the prescriptions they are taking might not be the best for them. Some doctors care more about making money than making their patient satisfied.
Part of the uprising in numbers might be because consumers just can’t escape from pharmaceutical ads. Americans spend many hours a week watching TV, and upon watching TV, there are always ads. And in those ads there are a great number of drug commercials. But is that the only reason why prescription drugs have gone up so much in such a little time? Of course not, because that’s only one small part of pharmaceutical marketing, because you need a doctor’s permission to buy them. Which is why all drug advertisements end with the same catch phrase “ask your doctor about…” So are doctors impacted by the pharmaceutical companies when deciding what to prescribe to their patient? Doctors may seem like they are on your side when treating you with your illness, but there is more to that than one might think. Are drug advertisements the main reason why pharmaceutical companies make money? Well, that’s a simple answer. That is because pharmaceutical companies know that doctors hold all the real power in the prescription drug business. Consumers can’t just go out to their local pharmacy, like CVS and Walgreens, to buy the drugs on those commercials. They would need their doctors to prescribe them to those drugs. Which is why, pharmaceutical companies spend nearly $4 billion a year on direct consumer marketing, and a whopping $24 billion a year marketing to health care providers. Because doctors are the main reason why pharmaceutical companies generate money. It is through doctors prescribing the specific drugs that pharmaceutical companies tell the doctors to prescribe to their patients, even if that drug isn’t the best for their patient. Some doctors only care about pleasing the pharmaceutical companies and their bank account. “Research has shown that physician–industry relationships do influence prescribing behavior. …show more content…
After all, if these relationships didn 't affect physician behavior in such a way as to increase sales, companies wouldn 't spend $19 billion each year establishing and maintaining them” (Campbell, 2007). Drug companies spend billions of dollars a year to influence doctors for them to influence their patients. So any way that drug companies can sway doctors to do what they want for money, they will. That way they will maximize their profits.
Everyone needs medicine at some point in their life. The way the drug companies market to doctors can also affect the people who are patients of these doctors. Doctors are the people who can prescribe prescription drugs to patients, and the drug companies know that. That 's why they use that to their advantage to make money for them. And the doctors use their patients as an advantage to generate cash by prescribing their patients the unambiguous drugs the pharmaceutical companies informed the doctors to prescribe. Dr. Jon W. Draud, who is a “medical director of psychiatric and addiction medicine at two Tennessee hospitals” (Ornstein, 2013), reported that he earned more than $1 million for “delivering promotional talks and consulting for seven drug companies” (Ornstein, 2013) in 4 years. That’s a large sum of money from advertising for the drug companies. That is just one example of a doctor who has been paid a big amount of money; there are many more doctors out there that also do what Draud does for extra cash. When you see celebrities advertising
Part of the uprising in numbers might be because consumers just can’t escape from pharmaceutical ads. Americans spend many hours a week watching TV, and upon watching TV, there are always ads. And in those ads there are a great number of drug commercials. But is that the only reason why prescription drugs have gone up so much in such a little time? Of course not, because that’s only one small part of pharmaceutical marketing, because you need a doctor’s permission to buy them. Which is why all drug advertisements end with the same catch phrase “ask your doctor about…” So are doctors impacted by the pharmaceutical companies when deciding what to prescribe to their patient? Doctors may seem like they are on your side when treating you with your illness, but there is more to that than one might think. Are drug advertisements the main reason why pharmaceutical companies make money? Well, that’s a simple answer. That is because pharmaceutical companies know that doctors hold all the real power in the prescription drug business. Consumers can’t just go out to their local pharmacy, like CVS and Walgreens, to buy the drugs on those commercials. They would need their doctors to prescribe them to those drugs. Which is why, pharmaceutical companies spend nearly $4 billion a year on direct consumer marketing, and a whopping $24 billion a year marketing to health care providers. Because doctors are the main reason why pharmaceutical companies generate money. It is through doctors prescribing the specific drugs that pharmaceutical companies tell the doctors to prescribe to their patients, even if that drug isn’t the best for their patient. Some doctors only care about pleasing the pharmaceutical companies and their bank account. “Research has shown that physician–industry relationships do influence prescribing behavior. …show more content…
After all, if these relationships didn 't affect physician behavior in such a way as to increase sales, companies wouldn 't spend $19 billion each year establishing and maintaining them” (Campbell, 2007). Drug companies spend billions of dollars a year to influence doctors for them to influence their patients. So any way that drug companies can sway doctors to do what they want for money, they will. That way they will maximize their profits.
Everyone needs medicine at some point in their life. The way the drug companies market to doctors can also affect the people who are patients of these doctors. Doctors are the people who can prescribe prescription drugs to patients, and the drug companies know that. That 's why they use that to their advantage to make money for them. And the doctors use their patients as an advantage to generate cash by prescribing their patients the unambiguous drugs the pharmaceutical companies informed the doctors to prescribe. Dr. Jon W. Draud, who is a “medical director of psychiatric and addiction medicine at two Tennessee hospitals” (Ornstein, 2013), reported that he earned more than $1 million for “delivering promotional talks and consulting for seven drug companies” (Ornstein, 2013) in 4 years. That’s a large sum of money from advertising for the drug companies. That is just one example of a doctor who has been paid a big amount of money; there are many more doctors out there that also do what Draud does for extra cash. When you see celebrities advertising