The Pharmaceutical Industry Interactions with Physicians: The Cost, the Ethics, and the Patient Welfare

Will new healthcare legislation help to curtail drug price increases and resolve concerns over pharmaceutical marketing ethics?
Natalie Mizik  | Spring 2011
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This research brief discusses pharmaceutical marketing practices and the implications of 2010 healthcare legislation. In an attempt to curb escalating healthcare costs, the Physicians Payments Sunshine Act (H.R. 3138) was introduced in congress in 2009 and its provisions were included in the Healthcare Reform Law of 2010. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are to disclose all payments made to physicians. The Healthcare Reform Law of 2010 also established a permanent funding stream for comparative drug effectiveness research, but did not address the issue of cost-effectiveness as it proved a “politically unacceptable” addition to the legislation. Will these changes curtail drug price increases and resolve concerns over pharmaceutical marketing ethics?

Case ID: 100513

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