This past week, New York Gov. David Paterson announced that he hopes to limit the amount and type of company gifts that pharmaceutical companies would be allowed to distribute to health care workers. If he succeeds, New York will be the tenth state to impose such a restriction. The uproar over gift giving in the health care industry stems from studies suggesting that company gifts persuade doctors to prescribe medications from those distributors more frequently than pills from other brands.
However, this claim may be hard to prove as company gifts and health care have gone hand in hand for many years. Every time I go to the doctor’s office I see promotional items ranging from a custom wall clock to the imprinted pen and notepad that the doctor uses to write down my medical history, and I can’t imagine how my experience would be different without these products. In fact, some of Paterson’s detractors argue that the presence of these imprinted company gifts leads patients to inquire about medications that they would not otherwise know to ask about. Furthermore, they say, the Food and Drug Administration reviews all promotional material for accuracy before distribution.
People on both sides of this argument are very passionate about the issue, and I’m curious to see how it plays out in New York, as well as other states where I’m sure the question will arise. What do you think? Should pharmaceutical companies be allowed to give company gifts to doctors and other health care professionals?
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