Is your doctor on Big Pharma's payroll?

[Barbara]

by Loren Berlin
9 Sep 11

...You say you didn't know your doctor was on a pharmaceutical company's payroll? Neither did I -- until this morning, when I searched a new database created by ProPublica, a nonprofit journalism organization, and discovered that one of mine has received money from two drug companies.

....

Tracy Weber, one of the ProPublica reporters leading the organization's investigation, explains. "A lot of brand name drugs are not only super-expensive, but also have more severe side effects than older drugs. So it's important to ask if there is something safer or cheaper? Another drug I should be using? Or non-drug alternatives? Especially with devices. It's good to know if your physician is speaking on behalf of the company that makes a hip implant or heart device. Are they prescribing it based more on their relationship with the manufacturer rather than what's best for you?"

....

So what are consumers to make of ProPublica's database of doctors and the payments they've received? Well, its a straightforward search engine, so if you're at all curious, you should check it out: Simply enter your doctor's last name and state....As Weber says: "If your doctor doesn't want to talk to you about it, I think that's something worth noting."

Loren Berlin is a reporter with the AOL Huffington Post Media Group. She can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter at @LorenBerlin, and on Facebook.


http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/...armas-payroll/

[Barbara]

I posted this comment to her article --

Often, whatever the presenting problem might be, your doctor will give you a prescription. This prescription will turn out to be only the beginning of a trajectory that leads to another medication and yet another one after that. The original problem is never really dealt with, and now you are worse off than when you first came to the office.

The patient has become more ill, and the doctor and Big Pharma have become rich.

www.antidepressantwithdrawal.info/

[Paul]

I posted this comment to her article --

Often, whatever the presenting problem might be, your doctor will give you a prescription. This prescription will turn out to be only the beginning of a trajectory that leads to another medication and yet another one after that. The original problem is never really dealt with, and now you are worse off than when you first came to the office.

The patient has become more ill, and the doctor and Big Pharma have become rich.

www.antidepressantwithdrawal.info/

Hello Barbara..

Great comment to send...

You got it in one... Thats exactly how it works... well done..

[Barbara]

Paul,

Thanks much for your post. So good to hear from you.......Barbara