Pharmaceutical Marketing to Physicians

Ok, first things first.

I commented on how the NHL was a buyer's market, and lo-and-behold, the Leafs just shipped out two of the highest-value rentals for a relatively low return: a low-first rounder, essentially. Olli Jokinen was added simply to free up cap space in a way Toronto wouldn't mind, while the prospect, Brendan Leipsic, is far from certain to make NHL. He seems to have some offensive talent, but is an undersized third rounder. Leipsic isn't nothing, but it's a small consolation prize.

It's a deep draft, a low-first rounder definitely has value, but not that much more than a second rounder and certainly not more than two. Santorelli was worth a second round pick. Franson was worth a second round pick, if not more. If the trade the Leafs made was all they could get for those two, then it really is a buyer's market - or the Leafs management are idiots.

Alright, medicine-y stuff.

John Oliver's been on fire when tackling absurdities in the American social order and his most recent spills into Canadian society.

Pharmaceutical companies are some of the most profitable businesses in the world, certainly one of the most profitable in the health care system. Even in the US, where insurance companies are roundly vilified, they're not the ones with the substantial profit margins - pharmaceutical companies are. I doubt that's quite as true here in Canada, but nevertheless, drug companies make money - and they rely on physicians to do it.

The kind of practices in John Oliver's piece are present in Canada. Lunches and free samples in exchange for presentations by pharmaceutical companies are common. I've personally seen a physician try out a medication on the spot, in front of a pharmaceutical rep, and immediately become convinced of its efficacy (its effect was cosmetically apparent and, in fairness, it did appear to be working).

The justifications for these gifts are wide-ranging, but typically fall along the same lines: drugs help people, free samples are great for low-income patients, and while physicians may be compromised by their relationship with pharmaceutical companies, the individual physician giving these justifications isn't. The first two items in that list are true in many cases, the third... it might be true for a few physicians, but there's plenty of research that shows it's not true for most. That's why pharmaceutical companies spend so much  marketing to physicians. It might not work on everyone, but it works on enough of them.

It's a practice that needs to stop.