lobbying groups ...spend nearly 10 times [the amount they spend on our political leaders] to influence the nation's 600,000 to 700,000 physicians to prescribe the newest and most expensive drugs. ...Nearly 85-90 percent [of pharmaceutical company advertising budgets] is spent on doctors, for free drug samples, speaker's fees, consultation fees, and ''educational" grants.
The settlement of the $185 million class action lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb announced at the end of January is a lesson in how physicians paid by the pharmaceutical companies as speakers and consultants can be hazardous to your health. ...[As an example], Bristol-Myers Squibb-paid physicians in major medical meetings [to] shamelessly exaggerat[e] the benefits of the drug, [Vanlev], for patients with high blood pressure and heart failure and failing to report publicly on substantial numbers of life-threatening drug complications which they knew, from their close relationship to the company, to exist.
Fortunately, the FDA saved hypertensive and cardiac patients from ever receiving Vanlev because it knew about the potentially fatal events, determined that they were excessive, and Bristol-Myers Squibb was eventually forced to withdraw its application to market the drug. A real save by the FDA!
Yes, this time the FDA got it right, and public health is spared a potential catastrophe, but how long before lobbyist groups start influenciny the FDA, assuming they haven't already? Who is going to protect us then? With all the planned cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, and the potential for doctors and hospitals to be squeezed even more, if HSAs become more widely adopted, I doubt it will be our doctors.