Hey Doc, Got a "Drug Problem?"

In an Op-Ed piece in todays New York Times, Arnold Relman, former editor at NEJM writes a pretty strong indictment of the pharmaceutical industry's sponsorship of Continuing Medical Education (CME) for physicians under the headline "Your Doctor's Drug Problem."

As for the doctors attending these industry-sponsored educational programs, they like the slick presentations, which often use industry-supplied teaching materials. They also like the low or nonexistent fees, the free food, and the numerous small gifts given out at the commercial exhibits that often accompany big education events. And naturally they are confident that their own independence is wholly unaffected by all of this — although surveys reveal that they are less sanguine about other doctors' ability to resist industry's blandishments.

Now, I'll be right up front here and point out that Medscape is one of the leaders in providing CME to physicians, so it's probably best if I not comment directly on this topic lest it be interpreted as any kind of official response from my employer (and for the record...nothing on this site is official in any way). But I know that a lot of outspoken, blogging (and non-blogging) docs read this site and I'm curious as to how they react to this piece. How do you feel about this topic, docs? Do you think you and your colleagues have this "drug problem?"

Comments

[enoch]

i sure do, i confess, i do go to dinners for agents that i'm interested learning more about. The funny thing is that i don't typically use newer agents in my practice, so i have to be very well convinced of a newer agents' efficacy if i'm going to prescribe a pricier newer agent. I'll typically have a couple questions to ask the presenter, since i always come prepared with the knowledge of which agent they'll be huckstering, so that i can try to winnow out bias.

[Bhavesh Patel]

I have been to very very few "drug rep dinners" which was the holy grail in medical school (...any time you get free food in med school, it is the holy grail).

In residency, our program was philosophically opposed to it, so we didn't really get "corrupted" As an attending, we do get drug reps in who leave samples and pens, but no Ferrari's.

However, having had the opportunity to work sans influence and con influence, I have to say that I don't mind the drug reps, as long as they're not high pressured about it. It has often introduced me to some meds and formulations that I otherwise might not have known about or tried.

And of the few "educational programs" I have attended, I have gleaned some useful info.