Study Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services
Pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $84 million marketing their products in the District of Columbia alone in 2011, including an outlay of nearly $19 million on giveaways to doctors and other health care professionals, according to a report by researchers. of the Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.
The report highlights that 12 doctors in the District received gifts, including consulting fees, worth more than $100,000 each in just one year. The study follows a law passed in 2004 in the District of Columbia that requires all drug companies to submit annual reports describing their marketing activities.
The law also provides for analyzes to determine how pharmaceutical marketing can affect health services in the District. "There is nothing intrinsically wrong with these gifts - explains Susan Wood, researcher and associate professor of health policy and environmental and occupational health at the American university - however, the report draws attention to spending on pharmaceutical marketing and raises questions about whether some heavily marketed medicines may be prescribed more widely than is appropriate".
The analysis finds that pharmaceutical companies spent a total of $83.7 million on advertising and gifts in 2011, a slight decrease from 2010. However, it found that a small number of companies, 23 out of 158, reportedly incurring marketing expenses of over $1 million each. "An impressive amount of money - notes Wood - that is spent to promote prescription drugs in the District".
The report also found that 22% of total marketing expenditure, equal to 18.9 million, was spent on gifts, a category which also includes scholarships, 'tokens' for attendance at the conference and meals. Hospitals, clinics and other organizations received gifts totaling $9.7m, while individuals 9.2m
