UC Davis and WebMD among many other reliable sources posted an important study on how drug reps tell little of the side effects of medications to doctors. Here is an excerpt:
“More often than not, family doctors receive little or no information about the harmful effects of medicines during clinic visits by pharmaceutical sales representatives (“sales reps”), according to an international study involving physicians in the United States, Canada and France. Despite the lack of information, those same physicians indicated that they also were likely to prescribe the promoted drugs, which is consistent with previous research about the influence of pharmaceutical promotional visits.”
According to Barbara Mintzes, one of the studies authors, “We are very concerned that doctors and patients are left in the dark and patient safety may be compromised.”
The study was published online April 10, 2013 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Read the entire article at both sites by clicking on the links below:
UC Davis link: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/7690#.U0ngGimzVTM.wordpress (last accessed April 3, 2014)
WebMD link: http://www.webmd.com/news/20130410/drugcompany- reps-dont-tell-docs-enough-about-side-effectssurvey (last accessed April 3, 2014)
“We are very concerned that doctors and patients are left in the dark and patient safety may be compromised,” Mintzes said.
Doctors in France were more likely to be told about the potential harmful effects of drugs during promotional visits than their counterparts in Canada and the United States. This may be due to tighter regulations for promotion of medicines in France, the researchers said.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/news/20130410/drugcompany- reps-dont-tell-docs-enough-about-side-effectssurvey (accessed April 3, 2014)
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