Pfizer Pays Billions For Pushy Selling Tactics In US
Written by Rupert Kircz | Wednesday, 09 September 2009 | There are 0 comments
they encouraged doctors to prescribe Viagra in return for free holidays 
Pfizer, the world’s biggest drug company has agreed an out of court settlement which will mean that they have to pay over $2 billion for civil and criminal misdemeanors after they were charged with mislabeling a whole list of medications. The charges also centered around allegations that Pfizer provided kickbacks to doctors in America to prescribe drugs which is a clear breach of medical law.
This huge settlement is the largest health care settlement since the Justice Department of America was set up and will send shock waves through the whole pharmaceutical industry as well as Wall Street.
Pfizer were specifically charged with illegally promoting Bextra an anti-inflammatory drug, Geodon an antipsychotic drug, the antibiotic Zyvox and Lyrica an anti epilepsy drug but it also appears that they encouraged doctors to prescribe Viagra in return for free holidays and other perks.
The rules and regulations surrounding prescription medications like Viagra need to be strict so that the line between professional medical care and financial incentives is extremely clear. In America this line is often blurred partly by the fact that it is not illegal to advertise prescription medication whereas in the United Kingdom mentioning a prescription drug name in an advertisement is not allowed. There have been many calls for more regulation in the American pharmaceutical industry to bring it in line with the industry in the United Kingdom however powerful interests and lobbying seems to prevent this.
At the end of the day it should always be the doctor who ultimately decides what medication is good for you and while there is no harm in mentioning what medication you think you might need and pointing out which medications agree with you, the buck stops with the doctor and he has the final word. Doctors need to be independent of financial incentives so that they can prescribe with integrity and gain the respect of the patients.
