“Corrupt doctors make under the table deals with pharmaceutical companies, write unnecessary prescriptions, and view patients as a quick way to make money.”
Written by: Mike Correll
It is assumed that all doctors conduct their work with the patient’s best interests and wellbeing in mind, but this is not always the case. There are licensed and certified doctors in the medical field that are more motivated by profit and monetary gain than by providing actual help for their patients. These corrupt doctors make under the table deals with pharmaceutical companies, write unnecessary prescriptions, and view patients as a quick way to make money. These shady practices make it very important for the public to understand what happens behind the scenes when a prescription is written so they can make their own decisions on what treatment is right for them.
Not many people think about the relationship between their doctor and their doctor’s pharmaceutical company of choice. The bond between these two parties often affects the type of treatment offered by the doctor. Big name pharmaceutical companies constantly send representatives to meet with doctors to provide them with free samples and small incentives in an attempt to persuade them to prescribe their drug. These representatives commonly allow doctors to give patients starter coupons, short term scripts written at no cost to the patient, so they can test how the drug works for them. In the article titled “Free Drug Samples and the Opioid Crisis,” it explains that, “Powerful painkillers are offered under attractive conditions to poorly educated patients who are not aware of the risk of addiction and who eventually die from drug overdose.” To many of these patients who are given starter coupons, it is their first time trying an opioid and they are completely unaware of the addictive properties. Once the patient is hooked on the powerful medication, they will continue to come back to the doctor asking for more which in turn puts more money into the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies.
Any person visiting the doctor must be aware that the treatment offered to them could potentially be causing more damage than repair and it is ultimately up to the patient to decide what is working. Pharmaceutical companies are aware of the dangers of their drugs and choose to corrupt doctors and tempt them with big payouts in an attempt to keep sales high. Pharmaceutical companies are paying doctors huge amounts of money, sometimes up to six figures, to continue to give the medication to their patients. This is a very dangerous problem because now it is up to the doctor to choose whether to diagnose the patient who has moderate back pain with rest and physical therapy or with an addictive opioid pain killer.
Doctors today are tempted to join the pharmaceutical company’s side in drug sales sometimes before they are even out of medical school. It is not uncommon for a student in medical school to be contacted by a representative from a drug company with the intent of creating a partnership between the soon to be doctor and drug company. The companies bribe the students with guaranteed bonuses and all-expense paid vacations if they chose their drug brand over other identical brand names. This is a very shady practice and there should not be deals between doctors and pharmaceutical companies with the intents of boosting sales for a specific drug. When doctors are bound to a specific company and prescribe only one brand of medication, it shows the doctor disregards the patient’s well being from the start and no matter what works best for the patient, the doctor will only offer the option that makes them the most money.
Another cause for physicians over prescribing medication is the absence of human connection in doctor visits. Some hospitals are so crowded and busy that patients cannot receive the proper help they deserve. When a doctor is meeting with patients for ten to twelve hours a day, it is easy for the doctor to lose human connection and start offering the solution that allows them to move on to the next patient as quickly as possible. This is a problem because a doctor’s primary concern should be of the patient’s health and if the doctor is only worried of satisfying the patient for the time being, then no real solution was given and it is likely the patient will still struggle with the issue sometime in the future. There is an acronym in the medical community, HMO, which means “Hurry it up, Move ‘em Out”. This would basically be used between two medical professionals in a situation where there is an overflow of patients and they must treat them and move on as fast as possible. When this becomes the case in any hospital, decisions are being influenced by profit and not by the passion to diagnose and treat people in need.
No prescription should be written without complete thought and serious consideration. Physicians have a very powerful job and their everyday choices greatly affect the people they come into contact with. Most people want to believe in their doctors and have faith that they are working to do all they can to treat whatever ailment the person entered the facility with. However, with shady pharmaceutical companies and intense pressure to help everyone, doctors sometimes go down a path that is more beneficial for themselves than their patient. Doctors are subject to bad temptations just like anyone else but they should always hold themselves accountable for the health of their patients and should work to provide long-lasting help to the people who need it
Moravian Health 