I'm just curious if doctors really do get any kind of kickbacks from the drugs they prescribe.  I've seen it mentioned in passing in a few posts here.  Is it true?  I had a rep. from my doctor's office call me 4 times in one day to try to convince me to start Humira.  I told her from the beginning that I wasn't interested but she continued to harrass me all day.  It's disheartening to know that a doctor would be more concerned about money than a patients well being.

my husband is a nurse so i know a little about this.
Drs used to get huge kickbacks, but a stop was put to that. HOWEVER drug reps do still come to drs offices and nursing and medical conventions and pay for fancy meals and hand out nice items, give prizes, like door prizes, very nice ones at their booths. For instance one company had this thing where if you had the winning ticket, which was of course free, i think it was a flat screen tv, cant' remember for sure it was NICE though. So it's not like they are getting kickbacks so much anymore as bought. If that make sense. Now they dont really get anything for using the drug like they used to. However the more they use the drug the more the reps will come by with free things.
These are small things butyou would not belive the number of pens and pads of paper and thumb drives and stuff like that my husband brings home from reps wanting to make sure the nurses and drs think of them first in a situation.

I heard on the news just in the last few days that the drug companies, through their trade association, have agreed voluntarily to stop the practice of providing any freebies, even pens and such. But they will still be making their visits to doc offices, I'm sure the ones that are better at that get their drugs prescribed more.

Hi Glamourgirl, I work in the healthcare field and have for about 8 years. I usually refrain from discussing anything related to my career on this site but I cannot resist replying to this one!

Summerstorm is right - physicians no longer get kick-backs from drug companies. They do however get wined and dined by the drug reps. Some hospitals and clinics have rules regarding what types of gifts can be accepted. Some drug companies only allow non-material gifts such as taking physicians to dinner...there are also some IRS regulations that come into play with these gifts...However, I have seen anything from small gifts such as food up to large gifts such as paid vacations and paid conferences...

With that said, the real red flag I see here (and the reason I feel compelled to reply) is that the drug rep had access to your medical information. Being in the healthcare field, I am amazed and horrified to hear that happened. Unless you specifically gave the doctor's office written consent to share your medical information with outside agencies the rep should never have known that you might need Humira and certainly should not have been given your contact information. That is WAY out of line!

Are you in the United States? If so, your healthcare information is protected by HIPAA and I would file a complaint!

Sorry for the confusion-it wasn't a DRUG REP that contacted me, it was a rep. from my doctor's office..either a nurse or some sort of assistant..I'm not sure which.

It's also important to note that dinners and gifts are provided by vendors (including drug reps) across the board in all industries and occupations. I would hope each person receiving a dinner or gift would have the integrity to see it just as that, a gift not as a mandate to purchase that vendor's product.

Sue

I work in a health clinic, & yes it's true that drug reps are no longer allowed to be bringing us gifts- no more pens, post-its, notepads, free spreads from Panera Bread or Dunkin' Donuts... very sad! But the drug reps can still do lunches or dinners with the staff- however, my clinic stopped that a while ago. It's just become policy not to accept the free lunches or dinners, mainly due to scheduling conflicts- no provider has the time to sit & be schmoozed by a drug rep for a few hours! Truthfully, I don't think the gift-giving has ever swayed any script writing decision- it was always looked upon as a nice unexpected treat, but nothing more. And this is just the food gifts- no one gives the pens & paper a 2nd thought. It's just a marketing tool, a real-life commercial. I mean, we've got clocks with Viagra printed on them!!! Gimme a break.... But, I'd be royally pissed if anyone from my doctor's office called me to suggest going on any drug- unless it was my GI himself, & it was something we had talke about previously. But to get a call out of the blue??? Plus it would freak me out- it's like "Why, do I need to go Humira? Am I that bad???"

Yep - I had the Viagra clock as well!!! Gave it as a white elephant gift one year.