Around the country, big pharmaceutical companies are paying doctors with blemished records to promote their products to their patients. Although the drug companies claim that they hire doctors who are highly respected in their fields, an investigation was performed by ProPublica discovered that hundreds of doctors who are on payroll by these large drug companies have been accused of professional misconduct; some were accused of lacking credentials, providing poor care, inappropriately prescribing drugs, and even having sex with patients. Though some of these doctors have clean records, many do not. Several – about 40 – have received FDA warnings for research misconduct, lost hospital privileges, or have been convicted of crimes. Moreover, at least 20 more have had two or more malpractice judgments or settlements. These companies claim that they hire these professionals based on that they are highly qualified experts in their field, are well-respected by their peers and good presenters when it comes to speaking. Many of these companies have reported that they do not routinely check the backgrounds of their doctors using the state board websites for discipline against doctors; in fact, only one company, Johnson & Johnson and Cephalon, said they review the state sites. The public should be aware of this, according to Dr. Joseph Ross, an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine. “You would never want your kid learning from a bad teacher,” Ross stated. “Why would you want your doctor learning from a bad doctor, someone who hasn’t displayed good judgment in the past?”
Student Researcher: Ameline Limorin
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D
Indian River State College
Sources:
“Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials – ProPublica.” Charles Ornstein , Tracy Weber and Dan Nguyen, ProPublica. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. http://www.propublica.org/article/dollars-to-doctors-physician-disciplinary-records