Examining Physicians’ Motives For Working With Pharma
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported on a debate that is raging within the OB-GYN community about the utility of testing pregnant women for herpes and treating them if they have it. The title of the article, “Drug Firm’s Cash Sways Debate
 Over Test for Pregnant Women,†clearly suggests that herpes drug maker GlaxoSmithKline is benefiting from this debate. The article highlights the efforts of Dr. Zane Brown a herpes expert who has conducted lectures on behalf of the drug maker. Brown is an advocate for herpes screening. However, the medical evidence indicates that screening is not medically necessary or cost effective.
Dr. Roy Poses, who contributes to the blog Health Care Renewal, views the Brown case as another example of the pervasiveness of conflicts of interest in medical care today. Poses has written a number of articles focusing on this issue this week on his blog. A few days ago he discussed the recent indictment of Dr. Pearson Sunderland III, of the National Institutes of Health who conducted consulting work for Pfizer while serving the agency.  Suderland has plead guilty to the charges.
Doctors: “I’ll Take Drug Company Money If It Saves Livesâ€
What I found interesting about Brown’s statements regarding his relationship with GlaxoSmithKline is his belief that he must do whatever it takes to save and improve the lives of infants born to women infected with herpes. Brown described his relationship as a marriage of convenience: “I am using them and they are using me,” he told the Journal.
I have certainly heard this argument before – especially when physician thought leaders are attempting to improve the management of minority or high-risk patient populations. Often, academic institutions, government agencies and non-profits do not have the funds to support work they believe is necessary. So, if a drug firm has an interest in educating on a disease or illness they care about, they will take the company’s money. They believe they are doing the right thing and they bristle at the suggestion that they are in thrall to their supporters.
No matter where you stand on the debate over the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on medical care, the fact that many physicians believe they are saving lives by working with industry is something that should be remembered. However, clearly physician-industry relationships should be monitored and disclosed.
