Does Your Doctor Receive Kickbacks From Pharmaceutical Companies?
Kickbacks to physicians and surgeons from pharmaceutical and surgical device companies have become a real concern.
Within the past decade we've seen a dramatic rise in the rate of complicated spinal fusion procedures on Medicare patients with no corresponding evidence advocating such a trend, and a notable increase in the use of anti-depressants in the field of pain management, where their effectiveness is questionable at best.
Often, physicians and surgeons receive more money by prescribing medications or complex surgeries instead of less invasive treatment modalities.
Changing this will require a complete restructuring of health care (which the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, will likely not even begin to accomplish).
In lieu of institutional change, then, it falls on patients to know what they are getting themselves into.
Dollars For Docs: A ProPublica Service One positive thing to come out of the ACA, or "ObamaCare," is that surgical device companies and drug companies will be required to make public the data on their payouts to health professionals starting in 2014.
So far, there are 15 drug companies that have begun to release this data.
The data as of now is partial, but the team of investigative journalists at ProPublica have taken it upon themselves to begin organizing it and presenting it to the public in an accessible manner.
The "Dollars For Docs" section of ProPublica's website features a state-by-state searchable database of all recorded and publicly available transactions between pharmaceutical companies and health professionals.
The website provides information on what the payments were for - research, speeches, meals, travel - and how much was paid.
Not all doctors are in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies.
It's even possible that some who have accepted payouts have not sold their scruples away.
But it's good to go into your doctor's appointment knowing what to be wary of.
If you go to Dr.
X for back pain and find out he has received substantial pay from Pfizer, for example, and the first thing he or she does is try to push medication on you before hearing you out, you have reason to take your health care needs elsewhere.
Once ProPublica has access to more complete data in 2014, patients will have a comprehensive resource for safeguarding against unnecessarily risky treatments for someone else's profit.
You need health professionals that you can trust to have your best interests in mind, and there are plenty of them out there.
If you find that the traditional M.
D.
s in your area are too invested in pharmaceuticals, try finding an osteopathic doctor (D.
O.
).
These health professionals are known for relying less on medication and more on a holistic approach to treatment and prevention.
See ProPublica's "Dollars for Docs" section at http://projects.
propublica.
org/docdollars/.
Within the past decade we've seen a dramatic rise in the rate of complicated spinal fusion procedures on Medicare patients with no corresponding evidence advocating such a trend, and a notable increase in the use of anti-depressants in the field of pain management, where their effectiveness is questionable at best.
Often, physicians and surgeons receive more money by prescribing medications or complex surgeries instead of less invasive treatment modalities.
Changing this will require a complete restructuring of health care (which the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, will likely not even begin to accomplish).
In lieu of institutional change, then, it falls on patients to know what they are getting themselves into.
Dollars For Docs: A ProPublica Service One positive thing to come out of the ACA, or "ObamaCare," is that surgical device companies and drug companies will be required to make public the data on their payouts to health professionals starting in 2014.
So far, there are 15 drug companies that have begun to release this data.
The data as of now is partial, but the team of investigative journalists at ProPublica have taken it upon themselves to begin organizing it and presenting it to the public in an accessible manner.
The "Dollars For Docs" section of ProPublica's website features a state-by-state searchable database of all recorded and publicly available transactions between pharmaceutical companies and health professionals.
The website provides information on what the payments were for - research, speeches, meals, travel - and how much was paid.
Not all doctors are in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies.
It's even possible that some who have accepted payouts have not sold their scruples away.
But it's good to go into your doctor's appointment knowing what to be wary of.
If you go to Dr.
X for back pain and find out he has received substantial pay from Pfizer, for example, and the first thing he or she does is try to push medication on you before hearing you out, you have reason to take your health care needs elsewhere.
Once ProPublica has access to more complete data in 2014, patients will have a comprehensive resource for safeguarding against unnecessarily risky treatments for someone else's profit.
You need health professionals that you can trust to have your best interests in mind, and there are plenty of them out there.
If you find that the traditional M.
D.
s in your area are too invested in pharmaceuticals, try finding an osteopathic doctor (D.
O.
).
These health professionals are known for relying less on medication and more on a holistic approach to treatment and prevention.
See ProPublica's "Dollars for Docs" section at http://projects.
propublica.
org/docdollars/.
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