[2] The pharmaceutical industry is a highly competitive business and its success is dependent on the sales and marketing of each drug.
[1] They ensure the healthcare profession is informed of the benefits of the drug along with the safety and the side effects according to the dictate of the company employing them.
All medical sales representatives must have the adequate training and sufficient scientific knowledge to provide relevant and precise information about the products.
In 2002 the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, issued a set of guidelines for its member companies to follow when it comes to the relationship between drug reps and doctors.
[4] PhRMA was inspired to come up with the code after years of criticism from groups like Families USA and Public Citizen.
PhRMA already had a set of guidelines on this topic but its board decided that one of the best ways to thwart the criticism and prevent any appearance of impropriety was to come up with a stricter code.
[4] "The PhRMA guidelines are one major factor contributing to a paradigm shift that directly impacts the way our industry conducts business,""Because of this shift, pharmaceutical sales forces must learn new and more compelling ways to create and keep customers, or perish because physicians are no longer willing to listen to their usual approach," said Susan Torroella, CEO of Columbia MedCom Group.
[4] PhRMA is opposed to state laws that regulate interaction between pharmaceutical sales representatives and health care providers.
Companies that fail to follow the department's rules could face a federal investigation that could lead to civil penalties.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that health care fraud costs American taxpayers $60 billion a year.
Damages from fraud can be recovered by use of the False Claims Act, most commonly under the qui tam provisions which rewards an individual for being a "whistleblower", or relator (law).
[7] Antipsychotic drugs are now the top-selling class of pharmaceuticals in America, generating annual revenue of about $14.6 billion.
Every major company selling the drugs — Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson — has either settled recent government cases, under the False Claims Act, for hundreds of millions of dollars or is currently under investigation for possible health care fraud.
Following charges of illegal marketing, two of the settlements set records last year for the largest criminal fines ever imposed on corporations.
Legal claims against the pharmaceutical industry have varied widely over the past two decades, including Medicare and Medicaid fraud, off-label promotion, and inadequate manufacturing practices.
The members base that gift giving forms relationships, which influences behaviour and creates a conflict of interest.
Big Pharma: How the World's Biggest Drug Companies Control Illness (2006) by Jacky Law Side Effects (2008) by Alison Bass Anatomy of an Epidemic (2010) by Robert Whitaker Bad Pharma: How drug companies mislead doctors and harm patients (2012) by Ben Goldacre