In general, most doctors don’t really know how much medication costs. They have an idea but this is not their area of expertise.

Doctors are taught and are obligated to prescribe to you, in their opinion, the BEST medication for your condition. Since they are bombarded with representatives from various drug companies, their opinions sometimes get…well…altered.

The companies that produce the inexpensive generic medications do not send their representatives to the doctors’ offices. They are busy competing with all the other manufacturers making the exact same generic. The big drug companies are sending representatives out to promote their expensive medication. If they can get doctors to prescribe their drug, the profits come in month after month after month.

That is until you learn that there is most likely a generic or alternate drug you can use to stop sending your money to them and start keeping it for yourself.

Drug company representatives put what could be called “pressure” on doctors to prescribe their medication. In years past, doctors would get extravagant “gifts” to prescribe these medications. Ski vacation packages were one of the more popular rewards for prescribing a certain number of a company’s medication. Soon, each drug manufacturer was spending more and more money trying to get doctors to prescribe their medication. For some physicians, Hawaiian vacations, Alaskan cruises, trips oversees, and golfing packages were given as “presents” for their prescribing practices.

Representatives keep track of the prescribing pattern by preprinting the prescriptions with the doctor’s name, medication, strength, dose, and directions. All the doctor has to do is sign. “It’s much quicker than writing out a whole prescription,” they say.

With the computer knowing virtually everything about you, it knows all of your prescriptions and which doctor wrote for which medication. Companies compile this information and sell it to the drug companies. The drug companies use this information for marketing purposes.

Don’t worry, your personal information is not sent, just the doctor and the medication. Your personal information is stored elsewhere; for the insurance companies to use to base your insurance costs!

For the doctor who is writing a lot of prescriptions, the “gifts” get a little better. For the doctor who is not writing enough, the drug company representative will pay extra attention to this doctor.

Whether this practice is right or wrong, I am not to say, but this is how the proverbial game is played. I have found many doctors wish they could get back to the practice of medicine. They say this because years ago, before all these insurance restrictions, they could prescribe the medication they wanted. The medication costs were not out of control, so cost was not considered. Insurance companies covered just about every medication. There were no formularies.

These days, the doctor diagnoses the problem and decides which medication should be best. Then, in the back of his mind, he’s thinking about all the special perks he gets from the different drug manufacturers. He also has to check which insurance you have. If this medication is not covered by your plan, he has to change it. If he thinks it is covered but is actually not, the pharmacy will probably call him later in the day. He then has to find out which drug is covered and start all over again. Many of today’s seasoned doctors would most likely love to go back to prescribing the way it used to be.

Remember all those “gifts” the doctors were getting. It is ironic that the drug companies wanted to reduce the amount of money spent advertising to doctors. They are currently spending billions of dollars a year advertising to potential patients. They have realized that the patient can now ask for a specific medication.

It has recently been brought to my attention that the major drug manufacturers are back to their old tricks again. Instead of giving the doctors vacation packages, they are sending them to free continuing education seminars.

As health care professionals, we are required to attend a certain number of continuing education hours per year. So the “nice” drug manufacturers are paying for the doctors to get their required education.

Well, let me tell you what is happening. The drug company’s representative comes in to pay your doctor a visit. He quickly explains the benefits of using his medication and gives your doctor a few samples to get people started. He then lets your doctor know that they are offering a free continuing education seminar that will tell him all about the drug. He can get his required hours for free. Oh yea, the seminar is in Lake Tahoe.

“We’ll fly you there, put you and a guest up in a nice hotel, and provide transportation for you. It is a two day weekend seminar lasting three hours each day. The rest of the time is yours; you can do as you please.”

So now the doctor gets a little weekend getaway, disguised as continuing education. Who is going to turn that down? When it comes to prescribing time, I’m sure your doctor is thinking about next year’s continuing education.