Earlier quoted context omitted.
Prescription drug sales reps market to doctors , attempting to convince them to prescribe certain drugs more frequently. Who pays for the drugs is largely irrelevant to that interaction, but I wouldn't be shocked to learn it's illegal in the UK.
> Prescription drug sales reps market to doctors, attempting to convince them to prescribe certain drugs more frequently. I dated a girl who went into pharmaceutical sales. They're basically bribed. They get kickbacks in some form or fashion. They get invited to speak a medical conferences by drug company reps, those conferences just happen to be at luxury retreats.
Medical students and residents will attend these, because they can't afford to eat those meals.
Now, the device industry... that does not operate under the PhRMA rules.
The one drug I've ever given a talk for (sugammadex, trade name Bridion) is an excellent drug that has a unique mechanism of action for which there is absolutely no equally-efficacious substitute. It is expensive, at around $90 a vial cost to the hospital, but it can and has prevented overnight ICU stays that would have cost the hospital far more. I was a big fan of the drug even before it was released in the US, so I didn't need a bribe to do the talk. But if they're going to pay someone, I saw no reason it shouldn't be me. I didn't say anything I didn't already believe.