Two-thirds of Americans see docs who got paid by drug companies: Drexel University study

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/du-toa030617.php

Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Two-thirds of Americans see docs who got paid by drug companies: Drexel University study
Drexel University

A majority of patients in the United States visited a doctor who received payments from drug companies, but most have no clue about it, according to a new Drexel University study.

About 65 percent of those surveyed as a part of the study by Genevieve Pham-Kanter, PhD, an assistant professor in Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health, visited a doctor within the last year who had received payments or gifts from pharmaceutical or medical device companies. What's more: Only 5 percent of those surveyed knew that their doctor had received such payments.

"These findings tell us that if you thought that your doctor was not receiving any money from industry, you're most likely mistaken," Pham-Kanter said. "Patients should be aware of the incentives that their physicians face that may lead them to not always act in their patients' best interest. And the more informed patients are about their providers and options for care, the better decisions they can make."

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