>>>>So.. Dr Ryan.... what were you saying about MD ethics in prescribing?
>>>>These people (both the payors and they payees) should be cuffed and sent to jail.
>>
>>Lose the prejudice, dude. ;-) The biggest payment to a physician was royalties for vessel grafts he helped invent. Similar payments are made to engineers and others in business who invent stuff, except there aren't armchair critics hollering that they should be put in jail for being clever.
>>
>>Payments to physicians and facilities also are made for research- because manufacturers can't try out treatments on patients themselves, and can't simply declare that their product is a success as they do in IT. Cancel these payments and how will you promote research into lifesaving drugs? It'll move abroad overnight, and your centers of excellence will begin a decline.
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>>A more typical payment to a physician would be covering costs to speak at a conference. FWIW, I believe that SWFox covers costs for its speakers as well. Should they go to jail?
>>
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>They should if they let the payments influence their prescribing.
>
>$3.5 billion in 5 months?
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>Does SW Fox pay $3,750 per talk?
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>Did you miss this one?
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>"travel expenses for beachfront junkets where doctors talked up new uses for particular drugs, to investments and other ownership stakes doctors held in companies."


Chasing dollars to save pennies. If you really want to be outraged, take a look at governmental travel abuses by the pres and all of his staff for the last 10 presidents.