Just say no to drug reps

The Physician-Pharmaceutical Industry Relationship

If you answered yes to 2 or more of the above, you may be drug company dependent.

Are you drug company dependent?

Levels of Interactions:

• Clinicians– gifts– promotional information

• Researchers

• Professional societies; medical journals

• Continuing medical education (CME)

Case

It is a busy day in the office, but you have agreed to speak for a minute to a pharmaceutical representative who has stopped by to drop off some samples of a new quinolone antibiotic, called Ubiquinone. Knowing your interest in golf, he has brought you golf balls emblazoned with the letter “U,” and also invites you to a round of golf at the country club this weekend.

Would you accept the golf balls?

Would you accept the invitation?

(From: “Really difficult Problems in Medical Ethics”)

Is it appropriate for a medical student to accept any of the following gifts from a pharmaceutical company?

• small gifts (e.g. pens, writing pads, golf ball)• a free meal (e.g. lunch at a departmental journal

club meeting or at a restaurant)• a textbook (worth R200)• a stethoscope (worth R500)• pharmaceutical samples (drug samples)• tickets to a Bafana Bafana game (worth R150)• sponsorship for travel and attendance at a

conference (worth R3000)• free shares in the company (worth R1000)

Consider the following:

• Is there any potential for harm for the medical student?• What are the implications of accepting a gift from a

pharmaceutical company?• Is there anthing wrong with getting “something for

nothing”?• Why may pharmaceutical companies offer such freebies?• Should medical students response to the pharmaceutical

industry regarding gifts differ from that of their seniors (qualified doctors)?

• Would it be fair to prohibit all industry presence in medical schools and training hospitals and general practices where students are placed?

Attitudes and Practices

Are gifts from pharmaceutical companies ethically problematic? A survey of physicians

• Survey of 42 residents and 52 faculty at a university-based IM training program.

• 21 item questionnaire. 4 point Likert scale.• 0 = “not problematic” • 3 = “very problematic”

• 90% response rate (105/117 residents).

• 93% of residents, 73% faculty responded.Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:2213-2218

Are gifts from pharmaceutical companies ethically problematic? A survey of physicians

Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:2213-2218

Resident and faculty responses

0 1 2 3 4

Happy Hour -rep

Happy Hour +rep

Free Lunch -rep

Free Lunch +rep

$40 golf balls

$40 textbook

Residents

faculty

P=.08

P=.04

P=.05

P=.88

P=.10

P=.34

Of principles and pens: attitudes and practices of medicine housestaff toward pharmaceutical promotions

• Survey of 117 1st and 2nd year residents at a university-based IM training program.

• Attitudes towards 9 types of promotion assessed.

• 90% response rate (105/117 residents).

Am J Med 2001;110:551

Of principles and pens: attitudes and practices of

medicine housestaff toward pharmaceutical promotions

Percent Who Consider Appropriate

0

20

40

60

80

100

abxguide

conf.lunch

dinnerlect.

article pen social text CME luggage

Very appropriateSomewhat appropriate

Am J Med 2001;110:551



Practices Among Residents Who Consider Promotion Appropriate

Percent who did or would have participated

0102030405060708090

100

abxguide

conf.lunch

dinnerlect.


Am J Med 2001;110:551



Practices Among Respondents Who Consider Activity Inappropriate

Percent who did or would have participated

0102030405060708090

100

abxguide

conf.lunch

dinnerlect.


Am J Med 2001;110:551

Of principles and pens: attitudes and practices of medicine

housestaff toward pharmaceutical promotions

Perceived influence of pharmaceutical reps on Prescribing Practices

Am J Med 2001;110:551

A little38%

A lot1%

None61%

A Lot33%

A Little51%

None16%

P<.0001“You” “Other Physicians”

Pharmaceutical branding of Resident Physicians

• Survey of 181 primary care residents; 164 (91%) responded.

• First asked to complete survey, then asked to empty pockets of white coats.

• 98% had eaten drug company-sponsored meal within the past year.

• 97% of residents were carrying at least one item with pharmaceutical insignia.

JAMA 2001;286:1024

Pharmaceutical Branding of Resident Physicians

JAMA 2001;286:1024

Frequency of items found in residents' white coats

58

2841

95 93 98

51

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f re

sid

ents

car

ryin

g it

em

Pharmaceutical Branding of Resident Physicians

JAMA 2001;286:1024

Frequency of items found in residents' white coats

14

85

31

55

9079

45

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f res

iden

ts c

arry

ing

item

wit

h ph

arm

aceu

tica

l bra

nd

Patient Attitudes

A comparison of physicians’ and patients’ attitudes toward pharmaceutical industry gifts

• Survey of physicians and patients at 2 tertiary care medical centers (1 military, 1 civilian).•196 patients and 268 physicians completed survey.•54% of patients were aware that pharmaceutical industry gave gifts to physicians.•Does your own doctor accept gifts? 27% yes, 20% no, 53% unsure.

J Gen Int Med 1998;13:151



Percentage that considered gift inappropriate

01020304050607080

Pen Mug Lunch Dinner Trip

PatientsPhysicians

P<.004 for all except mug, p=.24)



Percentage that considered gift influential

31 31 29

48

56

8 812

24

42

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Pen Mug Lunch Dinner Trip

Patients

Physicians

P<0.0001 for all except trip, p=0.0017

Professional Guidelines

American Medical AssociationCouncil on Ethical & Judicial Affairs

• “Any gifts accepted by physicians individually should primarily entail a benefit to patients and should not be of substantial value.”

• “Subsidies from industry should not be accepted directly or indirectly to pay for the costs of travel, lodging, or personal expenses of the physicians who are attending the conferences and meetings . . .”

• “No gifts should be accepted if there are strings attached.”

JAMA 1991;261:501

American College of PhysiciansGuidelines on Physician-Industry Relations

• The acceptance of individual gifts, hospitality, trips, and subsidies of all types from industry by an individual physician is strongly discouraged.

• The acceptance of even small gifts can affect clinical judgment and heighten the perception (as well as the reality) of a conflict of interest..

• The dictates of professionalism require the physician to decline any industry gift or service that might be perceived to bias their judgment, regardless of whether a bias actually materializes.

• Ideally, physicians should not accept any promotional gifts or amenities, whatever their value or utility, if they have the ability to cloud professional judgment and compromise patient care.

Annals of Internal Medicine 2002;136:396-402.

American College of PhysiciansGuidelines on Physician-Industry Relations

Acceptable industry gifts:

• Inexpensive gifts for office use (pens and calendars).

• Low cost gifts of an educational or patient-care nature (such as textbooks).

• Modest refreshment.

Annals of Internal Medicine 2002;136:396-402.

PhRMA Code on interactions with healthcare professionals

• Items primarily for the benefit of patients may be offered to healthcare professionals if they are not of substantial value ($100 or less).

• Items of minimal value may be offered if they are primarily associated with a healthcare professional’s practice.

• Items intended for the personal benefit of healthcare professionals (CDs, tickets to a sporting event) should not be offered.

www.PhRMA.org, April 2002

PhRMA Code FAQs

Question:

Under the Code, may golf balls and sports bags be provided if they bear a company or product name?

Answer:

No.


PhRMA Code FAQs

Question:

Under the Code, may healthcare professionals be provided with gasoline for their cars if they are provided with product information at the same time?

Answer:

No.


PhRMA Code FAQs

Question:

Under the Code, may items such as stethoscopes be offered to healthcare professionals?

Answer:

Yes


“That stuff doesn’t influence me at all. I don’t even know what drug is on my pen. I just go for the food.”

--Fill in your name here?

Pharmaceutical industry Spending on Promotion

17.8

21

15.713.9

12.511

9

0

5

10

15

20

25

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Pro

mot

iona

l exp

endi

ture

s ($

bil

lion

s)

Promotional spending on prescription drugs, l996-2002

Source: NIHCM, 2001

DTC ads 12.5%$2.63billion

Samples 56.1%$11.78 billion

Detailing to doctors 25.3%$5.3 billion

Journal ads 2%$480 million

Hospital detailing 4.1%$861 million

Promotional spending on prescription drugs, 2002

Total spending: $21 billionSource: IMS Health

2.5

1.85

1.321.07

0.791

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Pro

mot

iona

l exp

endi

ture

s ($

bill

ions

)Direct to consumer advertising on prescription drugs, l996-2000

Source: NIHCM, 2001

Direct to consumer advertising spending in the U.S., 2000

Source: NIHCM, 2001

125

146161

169

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Pepsi Budweiser Vioxx GM Saturn

Spen

ding

($

mil

lion

s)

Comparison of median revenue dedicated to R&D, profits, and marketing/administration, Fortune 500 drug companies, 2000 (n=11)

Source: Public Citizen, 2001

12%17%

30%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

R&D as % of revenue Profits as % ofrevenue

Marketing &administration as %

of revenue

Main task of drug company employees, 2000

Distribution, Other

2%

Production,Quality Control

26%

R&D22%

Marketing39%

Administration11%

Source: PhRMA Industry Profile 2000; percentages calculated by Sager and Socolar

Drug company jobs in marketing and research, 1995-2000

55,348

87,810

49,409 48,527

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Marketing

Research

Source: PhRMA Industry Profile 2000; percentages calculated by Sager and Socolar

# Jobs

18.7%

11%

5%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%P

rofi

t a

s %

rev

enu

e

drug industry median profit as % revenueother industry median profit as % revenue

Profitability of drug industry, l993-2000

•Source: Public Citizen update of Stephen W. Schondelmeyer calculation, Competition and Pricing Issues in the Pharmaceutical Market, PRIME Institute, University of Minnesota based on data found in Fortune magazine, 1958 to 1999; Fortune magazine, April 2000, Fortune 500 (www.fortune.com).

2.8%

Fortune 500 drug company profitability compared to all other Fortune 500 companies, 2000

Source: Public Citizen, 2001

19% 18%

29%

15.8%

3.9%4.9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Profits as %of revenues

Profits as %of assets

Profits as %of equity

Drug industrymedian

All Fortune 500industriesmedian

Sources of increased drug expenditures, 2000-2001

Increased number of

RxsShift to more expensive

drugs

Increased cost of drugs

Source: NIHCM, 2002 Total increase: $22.5 billion

24%

39%

37%

“Gifts are just a form of promotion or advertising, and advertising is a part of our society, like it or not.”

Gifts:

• Cost money (like other advertising).• Influence behavior (like other advertising).• Create obligation, need to reciprocate (unlike

advertising). Conflict of interest• Create sense of entitlement (unlike

advertising).• Erode professional values; demean profession

(probably unlike advertising).

Conflict of interest

Set of conditions in which judgement concerning a primary interest tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.

NEJM 1993;329:573-6

Conflict of interest?

“I have never been bought, I cannot be bought. I am an icon, and I have a reputation for honesty and integrity, and let the chips fall where they may.” “It is true that there are people in my situation who could not receive a million-dollar grant and stay objective. But I do.”

Should doctors be held to different (higher) standards?

The physician-patient relationship is a fiduciary relationship.

Characteristics of a Fiduciary:

• Has specialized knowledge or expertise

• Holds the trust of others

• Held to high standards of conduct

• Avoids conflicts of interest

• Is accountable or obligated (ethically and legally)

Influence

The Effects of Pharmaceutical Firm Enticements on Physician Prescribing Patterns

Pharmacy records reviewed 22 months before and 17 months after two pharmaceutical company-sponsored symposia on two medications:

Drug A: New intravenous antibiotic

Promotion: All-expenses-paid trip to “luxurious resort on West Coast” (n=10 travelling MDs)

Drug B: New intravenous Cardiac drug

Promotion: All-expense-paid trip to island resort in the Caribbean (n=10 travelling MDs)

Chest 1992;102:270

The Effects of Pharmaceutical Firm Enticements on Physician Prescribing Patterns

Drug "A" Usage

050

100150200250300350400450

Un

its

Index Institution Major Medical Centers

Chest 1992;102:270

Physicians' Behavior and their Interaction with

Drug Companies • Case-control study at a University Hospital

Cases: 40 physicians who had requested formulary additions.

Controls: 80 physicians who had made no such requests.

• Information regarding interaction with drug companies obtained by survey instrument.

JAMA 1994;271:684

Physicians' Behavior and their Interaction with Drug Companies

• Physicians who had requested formulary changes were more likely to have accepted money from drug companies to attend or speak at symposia.

(OR=5.1, 95%CI, 2.0 - 13.2)

• Physicians were more likely to have requested additions of drugs made by companies with whose reps they had met (OR=4.9, 95%CI, 3.2 - 7.4).

JAMA 1994;271:684

Scientific versus commercial sources of influence

• Telephone questionnaire of 85 randomly selected internists in Boston area

• Questioned about two classes of drugs: – Propoxyphene analgesics

– Cerebral and peripheral vasodilators.

Am J Med 1982;273:4

Scientific versus Commercial Sources of Influence

Am J Med 1982;273:4

62%

4%4%

68%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Scientific papers Drug ads

% P

hysi

cian

s

Very important Minimally important

Scientific versus Commercial Sources of Influence

Am J Med 1982;273:4

71%

32%

49%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Impaired cerebralblood flow majorcause of dementia

Vasodilators usefulin managing

"confused geriatricpatients"

Propoxyphene morepotent than aspirin

% P

hysi

cian

s ag

reei

ng

Scientific versus Commercial Sources of Influence on the Prescribing behavior of Physicians

Were physicians who believed these drugs to be effective more likely to rely on commercial than scientific sources?

• Vasodilators: Yes (p=0.006)

• Propoxyphene: No

Am J Med 1982;273:4

A Physician Survey of the Effect of Drug Sample Availability on Physicians’ Behavior

• Setting: University-based clinics at an academic medical center.

• Participants: 131 of 154 general medicine and family physicians.

• 79 residents, 52 attendings.

• Questionnaire.

• Three hypothetical clinical scenarios: Patient with uncomplicated urinary tract infection, hypertension, depression.


A physician survey of the effect of drug sample availability on physicians’ behavior

HTN scenario:

• 92% said they would prescribe a diuretic or -blocker as initial therapy.

• When samples were made available, 32 of the 35 physicians who said they would give a drug sample selected a drug that differed from their preferred choice.


A physician survey of the effect of drug sample availability on physicians’ behavior

HTN “follow-up” scenario:

Patient now has health insurance, blood pressure controlled on drug sample

• 69% said they would write a prescription for the sampled medication rather than switch therapy.

• 88% of sample users would have written a prescription for a drug that differed from their preferred choice.


Physicians, Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives, and the Cost of Prescribing

•Questionnaire on attitudes toward and use of information provided by pharmaceutical representatives.

• Mailed to all primary care adult medicine practitioners in Kentucky (n=1603)

• Main outcome measure: Relative cost of prescribing, based on responses to treatment choices for clinical scenarios.

• 36% response; 446 questionnaires suitable for analysis.Arch of Fam Med 1996;5:201


Arch of Fam Med 1996;5:237

% of physicians that used information provided by reps in their clinical practice

Yearly14%

Weekly31%

Daily5%

Never1%

Monthly49%


• 3 case scenarios: acute bronchitis, mild HTN, and uncomplicated UTI.

• Positive correlation found between physician cost of prescribing and:

– perceived credibility of information provided by pharmaceutical reps (p<.01).

–Frequency of use of reps as information source (p<.001) •Physician age, years since graduation, hours worked per week was not correlated with cost of prescribing

Arch of Fam Med 1996;5:237

Bias in promotional materials

Pharmaceutical Advertisements in Leading Medical Journals: Experts’ Assessments

• “Peer review” of all ads from 10 journals during January, 1990.

• 109 advertisements were analyzed by 113 experienced physician peer reviewers and 54 clinical pharmacists.

• 71% of reviewers had received money from the drug industry within the past 2 years; 53% had received more than $5000.

Ann Int Med 1992;116:912


FDA regulations specify that ads are false, lacking in fair balance, or otherwise misleading if:

• They make claims about relative safety and efficacy or about the populations in which the drug is useful that are not supported by the current literature.

• Use literature or references inappropriately to support claims in the advertisement.

• Use statistics erroneously.

• Use headlines, sub-headlines, or pictorial or other graphic material in way that is misleading.

Ann Int Med 1992;116:912


Ann Int Med 1992;116:912

3044

57

92

0102030405060708090

100

Disagreedwith DOC

claim

Ad wouldlead toproper

prescribing

Little or noeducational

value

Not incompliancewith 1 or

more FDAcriteria

The Quantity and Quality of Scientific Graphs in Pharmaceutical Advertisements

• Review of all pharmaceutical ads in from 10 leading American journals in 1999.

• 498 unique advertisements (3,185 total).

• 74 unique graphs

JGIM 2003;18:294-297

The Quantity and Quality of Scientific Graphs in Pharmaceutical Advertisements

• 36% of graphs contained “numeric distortion.”

• 66% of graphs contained “chart junk.”

• 54% reported intermediate outcomes.

JGIM 2003;18:294-297

Logical Fallacies in Pharmaceutical Promotion

[Sample Ads available on request from No Free Lunch]

JGIM, 1994; 9:563


Argumentum ad populum

Appeal to popularity


Argumentum ad verecundiam

Appeal to authority


Argumentum ad celebritam

Appeal to celebrity


Fallacy of ignoratio elenchi

(or fallacy of irrelevant conclusions,

or fallacy of ignoring the issue

or the non-sequitur)


Appeal to emotion

Dealing with conflicts of interest

• Prohibition

• Divestiture

• Abstention

• Mediation

• Disclosure

NEJM 1993;329:573

Epilogue: Do doctors need drug reps?

• Medical Letter (www.medicalletter.com)

• Therapeutics Initiative (Canada)

(www.ti.ubc.ca)

• Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (UK)

(www.which.net/health/dtb)

• Prescrire.org (France)

• etc.

Conclusion

• The patient-physician relationship is a fiduciary relationship.

• Fiduciaries have an obligation to avoid conflicts of interest.

• Gifts from the pharmaceutical industry, whether large or small, create conflicts of interest.

• Physicians should not accept any gifts from the pharmaceutical industry.

Just say no to drug reps

Just say no to drug reps

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