States ask drug firms to report gifts to individual physicians

Drug company marketing gets more scrutiny as states seek ways to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. March 1, 2004.

At the latest medical meeting sponsored by a drug company that Sidney Gold, MD, attended, spouses were not invited.

"I think there's been a big change," the Woodland Hills, Calif., psychiatrist said. "The focus was much more on education and less on the trinkets and freebies that they had in the past."

The nature of pharmaceutical marketing to doctors may have changed, but old stories of lavish meals and gifts linger. So much so that state legislators across the country are putting the doctor-detailer relationship under the microscope in hopes that this scrutiny will eventually lower prescription drug costs.

The first step state lawmakers are taking is requiring companies to report how much sales representatives are spending and what they're spending it on. Sponsors of these bills acknowledge that they may not immediately lower costs, but new laws could cause a budget shift with less spent on marketing and more spent on samples, medical education support and research and development.

In 2002, Vermont enacted the nation's first legislation of this type. It requires drug company representatives to report to the state pharmacy board any gifts that they give to doctors that are valued at more than $25 (free samples are excluded). The pharmacy board then forwards the information to the state attorney general.

Nevada, New Mexico and Maine followed suit, and 10 states have similar bills active in their legislatures.

"We don't have any leadership at all in the federal government when it comes to reducing prescription drug prices," said Illinois Rep. Jack Franks, who has introduced a bill into that state's Legislature. "It's obvious Washington has sold out, so it's up to the states to protect our citizens from being gouged."