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USA Dr's bribes to now be made public and published on the web

the power to enforce corruption laws.

I would have RICO apply to the AMA.......

But why make the reporting of payment on the doctor end and not on those paying (bribing?) the doctors? If someone buys me (and perhaps others at the same time) dinner/drinks, then they pay the restaurant/bar check, thus how do I report "my share" of that unknown amount? This is likely to make the "perks" offered simply be harder to trace (report) like sports tickets, cruises or vacation resort reservations.
 
Are you actually saying that there is no corruption in American health care, TT?

Or that corruption in health is fine?

Which is it?

Well, I've seen what my Doctors make when they bill my insurance for an exorbitant amount and how little they actually get.

So, what's wrong with corruption? It will provide incentive to remain in medicine and not go into the finance industry. Now, if the Doctor gives you a referral you don't need or will harm you, sure, that's wrong. But when drugs are similar, why not refer one over the other? They're just guessing anyway.
 
So why make the one getting the check (or as the article stated a "free" dinner) do the reporting and not the one writing/paying the check? How much does one report that a "free" dinner was worth? This will simply allow the big pharma sales reps to give non-cash benefits, like box seat tickets to sporting events, airline/cruise ship tickets and etc. that are not easily tracable to anyone.

It would be my guess that this is a first effort at getting the Pharms in line.
 
It would be my guess that this is a first effort at getting the Pharms in line.

It would be my guess that "the Pharms" helped to write the PPACA law, thus the added federal "bribe" reporting requirement was pushed down the line to the doctors. ;)
 
In the past pharma reps did spend a lot of money--doubt it was millions, but that is not the case now.

Are you kidding? ONE pharm company was responsible for at least 300k per year in business at a restaurant I managed, in take out lunches, dinners, and banquets, for the local Drs offices. One, relatively small pharm rep. In one restaurant. Trust me, it's millions.
 
I would hate to think that most posters on this board would just blindly accept a doctors treatment of taking X, Y and Z, without knowing not only what X,Y and Z were for, the possible side effects, if they were contra-indicated, but if there were less expensive alternatives available once I educated myself on the former.

Not only the treatment, but checking the logistics of the diagnosis itself. I have first hand knowledge of how wrong, and potentially fatal, an incorrect diagnosis could be.

The 'corruption' of doctors to promote certain drugs (by brand) is only effective to the extent of the gullibility of the patient. Those that fail to educate themselves regarding their health and health issues are just as bad as those who take the handyman's word for it that those roof shingles are 50 year warrantee, without seeing the wrapper.

For the record, I have my own axes to grind with Big Pharma on a multitude of subjects, so don't be thinking I am 'supporting' them in their endeavor to sway doctors to prescribe their brand. However, it's the patient's responsibility (or the guardian there of) to educate themselves, just as it is a consumer's responsibility to do the same.
 
Are you kidding? ONE pharm company was responsible for at least 300k per year in business at a restaurant I managed, in take out lunches, dinners, and banquets, for the local Drs offices. One, relatively small pharm rep. In one restaurant. Trust me, it's millions.

You said that reps were spending millions. Perhaps you meant all their reps were spending millions rather than individual reps spending millions. Not sure of your timeframe since you experienced this. They used to have junkets where they flew the docs to some resort somewhere to get the same information. Over time, that has progressively been shut down both for pharma companies getting cheaper and increased regulations. Also not sure whether you were referencing thought leaders who basically become spokepeople for some drug or another or just a doc learning more about a drug. The so-called faculty have had to disclose this relationship for years. The run of the mill doc only recently.

Additionally, the number of pharma reps has decreased dramatically as the docs don't have time to see them and pharma has focused their marketing efforts in other directions. A patient asking a doctor for a specific drug they saw advertised is much more powerful today than buying a modest meal for a doc. Not ever place is as expensive as Connecticut.
 
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