The other day I had an interesting discussion with my friend Joe, who is the general manager of a local restaurant. During a recent appointment with his primary care physician, his doctor spoke about Massachusetts’ ban of pharmaceutical dinners last year and how it has affected his quality of care.
Marketing codes in MA, which went into effect last July, ban the private functions that restaurants thrived upon and disallow pharmaceutical companies to offer free meals, gifts, entertainment and more to doctors; also, the meetings must be held in an office, hospital or training facility and not off site. These dinners hosted by drug manufacturers provided educational presentations about new treatments, information which is now more difficult to obtain.
In lieu of these dinners, drug representatives travel from hospital to hospital to educate doctors about new treatments. Joe’s doctor raised a great point: Who, especially in a busy office, has time to speak with drug reps in between patients? He certainly doesn’t, and the lack of convenient, informational dinners ultimately affects patients, as the same old treatments are prescribed over and over.
The patient-physician dialogue is becoming more equal as the ePatient movement builds steam. Massachusetts has some of the best hospitals in the world, and the strict marketing codes affecting its health care providers prove how important it really is to join the movement. Become engaged in your health by researching conditions, symptoms and treatments for a more educated, efficient conversation with your physician.
