Paid to Prescribe – Big Pharma ‘Compensating’ Louisiana Doctors

(KMDL-FM) If you were to sit and watch your favorite television program or sporting event on commercial television, what's one commercial that you are sure to see? Okay, in Louisiana, it's an injury attorney commercial, but what's the other one? Do the words "Ask your doctor if (insert medication name) is right for you" ring a bell at all?

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We are inundated with messages from pharmaceutical companies that want us to ask our doctors to prescribe their medications. And while I am a huge advocate of patient knowledge, research, and rights, I also know that medical professionals don't care for it when we use Google in an effort to usurp their years of medical education and on-the-job training.

Fortunately, I do believe that our medical professionals are just that. They will always act in the best interest of their patients. And they will tolerate our assinine insistances the we have the same medical condition as the celebrity we saw endorsing a certain medication on television.

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How Do Doctors Choose The Medications They Prescribe For Us?

But how does a medical professional decide on what medication is best prescribed to treat certain afflictions? First and foremost, it's education, research, and professional development that are leaned into when it comes to choosing treatment.

But what if several medications do basically the same thing? What might make a medical professional choose to prescribe one over the other? I am not about to besmirch the medical community and say it's money, but I have also had my eyes checked, and despite the fact I was educated in Mississippi, I can still read the writing on the wall.

Just think of all the prescription options that are now available for weight control. Come on, you can sing the jingle, can't you? So, why might a doctor choose the medication with the adapted 70s rock hit jingle over a similar medication without a catchy tune?

How Can I Find Out If My Doctor Is Being Compensated to Prescribe My Meds?

It's called the Open Payment Search Tool. It's online, and it allows you, the consumer, the patient, the only one who is genuinely concerned about your health and well-being, to see just how much of an "incentive" your medical team might have to prescribe one course of treatment over another.

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Let me be clear, no laws are being broken by the pharmaceutical companies or the doctors. This is all legit and perfectly legal. And if your doctor is like mine, they don't mind you asking them about any additional compensation they might receive from drug manufacturers and marketers.

It's expensive to run a medical practice. It takes a huge personal investment in time and energy, and there are long hours and ungrateful patients. Oh, then there are threats from those attorneys whose commercials we are inundated with, too.

I don't begrudge anyone for making a great living at their passionate profession. Also, many medical professionals use industry compensation as donations for charitable causes. So, it's not bad, it's just not out in the open.

I just want to know if the decision that was made on my medical care was in my best interests or in the doctor's best interests.  Transparency is a wonderful thing, except when you're making boudin, but that's the reason we have cardiologists, right?