Before you treat me can you tell me which companies you have received money from?
Nov/20/2007 09:53 Filed in: In The News
It's not easy being a physician today. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal detailed how a young married couple fresh out of med school had student loan payments in excess of $2200 a month and were barely able to make ends meet. Malpractice insurance rates have gone through the roof and medical supplies and equipment costs are also increasing. Who, therefore, can blame a physician for trying to make extra money by becoming a thought leader or KOL ? The moment of truth however comes when we must ask "are you doing this for the money or do you really believe in the product and its benefits?"
Meanwhile there are those in state legislatures who want physicians to disclose all their alliances with pharma or medical device companies so that patients have a clear understanding of these partnerships. I have worked with a lot of physicians over my 10 years in pharma and medical devices and I have yet to run into any physicians that are "for sale". They generally will agree to be a KOL for a price but they also want to have control over what they say and present to colleagues. But physicians have to understand that patient attitudes are changing; they no longer believe everything that is told to them by HCP's and they want more control over their HCP's decisions. There was a reporter on the Today show, for example, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. As she told her story to the audience she made a point of explaining that she went to three different doctors to discuss treatment options and after doing some research settled on one that recommended surgery because "he made the most sense and made me feel good".
Baby-boomers in general are very skeptical but have become even more skeptical with the onset of corporate greed, made up wars, and failure of the government to help those in need. Right now the only companies that baby boomers loathe more than pharma are the oil and insurance companies. Again pharma has failed to acknowledge this trend but eventually they will see the light of day as the sun sets. In the meantime don't be surprised if the next time you go to your doctors office you see a binder with notes on all your doctors alliances.
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