Ink dries up on drug companies' promotional products
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The Allegheny County Medical Society is seeing more physicians walking away with its pens these days.
In a way, the doctors are using those office supplies to fill a void left when pharmaceutical companies stopped handing out pens and Post-it notes to promote their products.
"It's a nice looking pen," said Douglas Clough, an internist and the president of the county medical society, although he adds that the pen does seem to run out of ink fairly quickly.
More doctors now are writing with freebies from their banks and insurance agents because of a new code from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as the PhRMA Code, that calls for drug companies to stop giving anything of value to doctors in order to avoid the appearance of influencing which drugs are prescribed.
Every medicine comes with side effects, and the code change in this case is forcing changes in the promotional products industry. "We're using a shotgun to address the problem," said John Krah, executive director of the medical society, who noticed the pens starting to disappear.
The new code prohibits the items known colloquially as trinkets and trash that carry logos -- such as the pens, pads, coffee mugs, mouse pads and bags that used to float around doctors' offices so freely.
"We never intended to give any impression that a physician could be influenced by a pen," said Diane Bieri, general counsel for PhRMA. But the code does answer those critics who said even small items could have an inappropriate influence on prescribing physicians.
It also is hurting companies that depended on the business of supplying pharmaceutical companies with those giveaway items.
Kris Wittenberg, who founded SayNoMore! Promotions in Eagle, Colo., 10 years ago, lost 70 percent of her business when orders from KV Pharmaceutical Co. in St. Louis dried up after the PhRMA code went into effect in January.
"You would be amazed by how many things you can put a logo on," Ms. Wittenberg said.
Now she has had to lay off one employee, her remaining sales person works on only commission and neither Ms. Wittenberg nor her husband, who works with her, have taken a salary in the last three months.
"The pharmaceutical industry was the largest purchaser of products in my industry," she said.
The code was intended to emphasize the educational nature of interactions between drug company representatives and doctors. "We never intended to have any impact on anyone's business," Ms. Bieri said.
The drug representatives can't buy doctors dinners, although physicians can eat during seminars in their offices.
Dr. Clough said the code does not prohibit health care executives from attending sporting events on the pharmaceutical industry's tab -- just prescribing physicians. He thinks everyone should have the same ethical standards as physicians in the office.
Ms. Bieri said the companies that can't provide trinkets still can distribute educational items such as anatomical models for physicians to be used to teach patients about conditions.
Promotional companies are trying to figure out which products they can sell that will comply with the new rules.
Pat Cavanaugh said the introduction of PhRMA Code means that his company, Cavanaugh Marketing Network, based in West View, has to come up with more creative ways to market drugs without crossing the line of distributing materials that have a value outside of the office.
One item Mr. Cavanaugh's company is working on is a touch screen system to answer patients questions about illnesses and drugs they are prescribed.
While Mr. Cavanaugh said he could make more money developing creative ways to market drugs than he did when pharmaceutical companies handed out pens, he thinks doctors did fine under the old rules, too.
"It's somewhat of an insult to the health care professionals that they think a pen or a pad is going to influence what they are going to prescribe."
Correction/Clarification: (Published Apr. 1, 2009) SayNoMore! Promotions created condoms with a logo on their wrappers for an adult toy online site. This story as originally published Mar. 31, 2009 about pharmaceutical companies curtailing their practice of handing out promotional products to doctors incorrectly identified the promotion for which the condoms were used.
First Published March 31, 2009 12:00 am
