Industry payments may sway doctors toward prescribing pricier pills

Doctors who receive payments from the pharmaceutical industry are nearly twice as likely to prescribe brand-name gabapentinoids—a class of pain drugs that have the potential to be misused—than similar generic drugs, according to new research.

The findings are based on an analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.

In a July 10, 2019 Medscape article, Michael Barnett, assistant professor of health policy and management, said the study was timely given the debate around drug pricing. “The results fit in with a broad literature showing that pharmaceutical marketing is effective at changing what physicians prescribe,” Barnett said. “It’s no wonder that pharmaceutical manufacturers spend over $4 billion annually on ‘detailing’ of physician offices.”

Read the Medscape article: Industry Money Fuels Gabapentin Prescribing

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