The Lies Surrounding Big Pharma
“Practitioners may think they are using reliable information to engage in sound medical practice, while they are actually relying on misleading information; they may then prescribe drugs that are necessary or harmful to patients, or more costly than equivalent medications” (Rodwin 544). Marc A. Rodwin wrote a paper highlighting many of the problems with pharmaceutical companies. Big pharmaceutical companies have always had ethical issues, however, within the past few years, it has become more apparent in the public perception. Bribery and overprescription of medications are just the beginning of the list of issues with pharmaceutical companies. Bribery and overprescription are happening right underneath the noses of consumers while bamboozling the everyday patient and making it difficult to understand what is being done to them. Pharmaceutical companies are unethical. They are known to bribe doctors, falsify journal entries, and encourage overprescription of unnecessary medicine, thus creating a false narrative that they altruistic, and only want to help society.
One of the main issues with the pharmaceutical industry is their tendency to bribe doctors with various incentives to prescribe their medications. ¨An analysis of the 2014 data of the Open Payments program found that 1,444 pharmaceutical companies reported paying 6.5 billion USD to more than 600,000 physicians and 1,100 teaching hospitals in the United States¨ (Hajjar 2). These pharmaceutical companies need a way to advertise and teach consumers about their medicines, otherwise, they will not make money. One way they have found successful is to pay doctors and hospitals to prescribe their medicines and hand out samples of the medicine. Although this seems legitimate at first sight, there are major fines and lawsuits involved, if caught bribing. In 2011, Johnson & Johnson and the US Securities and Exchange Commission's came to a settlement for charges of briberies paid to public doctors and medical officials in Greece, Poland, and Romania. They would give them gifts in return for prescribing their medicines. This led to Johnson & Johnson paying $70 million to settle these charges. (Peltier-Rivest 21) These companies that are acting in bribery and other forms of illegal promotion tactics always end up paying way more than the extra money they made, in legal fees. Johnson & Johnson is such a trusted brand in households all over the country. Moms use these products for their children, the pharmaceutical companies should be trusted to do the right thing and not bribe doctors. These actions completely destroyed some of that trust. Although Johnson & Johnson have committed bribery with medicine; this does not directly affect the everyday consumer and everyday products. Consumers will still purchase their shampoos, conditioners, lotions etc. Ultimately, however, Johnson & Johnson is such a trusted brand in households all over the country. Parents use th...
