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<p>An investigation demonstrates a link between how doctors prescribe medication and money they receive from pharmaceutical companies.</p>

Analysis: More Money to Docs Leads to More Brand-name Drug Prescriptions

By Jonathan Springston, Associate Managing Editor, AHC Media

Though the parties have long disputed such allegations, a recent analysis found that doctors who receive money from the medical industry prescribe drugs differently than colleagues who receive no money. Additionally, those receiving money are even more likely to prescribe brand-name drugs than generics.

ProPublica, a non-profit watchdog, matched records on payments from pharmaceutical and medical device makers in 2014 with corresponding data on doctors’ medication choices in Medicare’s prescription drug program. Doctors who received industry payments were two to three times more likely to prescribe brand-name drugs. Doctors who received more than $5,000 typically prescribed the most brand-name drugs. The pattern and prevalence varied wildly from state to state, but the results of the analysis show the practice is widespread nationwide.

Brand-name drugs utilize slick marketing campaigns and sell at high prices, but studies show generics work just as well as brand-name drugs, while patients don’t seem to clamor for brand names over generics.

“You can debate if these payments are good or bad, or neither, but what isn’t debatable is that they permeate the profession,” said Walid Gellad, MD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and co-director of its Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing.

“You have people who are going out of their way to avoid this and you’ve got people who are pretty committed and engaged to creating relationships with pharma,” said Richard Baron, MD, MACP, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine. “If you are out there advocating for something, you are more likely to believe in it yourself and not to disbelieve it.”

Others say there are plenty more factors besides money that go into prescribing drugs, including experience and clinical knowledge. “Working together, biopharmaceutical companies and physicians can improve patient care, make better use of today’s medicines and foster the development of tomorrow’s cures,” a spokesperson for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry trade group, said in a statement. “Physicians provide real-world insights and valuable feedback and advice to inform companies about their medicines to improve patient care.”

In each issue of Internal Medicine Alert, “Pharmacology Update” provides expert advice on the latest FDA-approved drugs to treat a variety of ailments. AHC Media’s separate, monthly supplement Pharmacology Watch expands on this feature, showcasing evidence-based updates in clinical pharmacology.