Ed Silverman at pharmalot ran a three part series of blogs on physician compensation for being key opinion leaders, consulting with pharma, etc that is very balanced and factual.
Paying doctor as consultants or to speak about products/treatments is problematic when the physician in question is not an expert or not disclosing the payment. And it's no more problematic than a doctor who is paid to write or speak against a product or even does so because of an ideological or cultural belief that any new drug is inherently useless or overhyped. In fact, the latter case is even more troubling since it is shaped not by science or clinical practice but an agenda.
Second, having attended sessions where KOL have spoken (and disclosed support) it is obvious that doctors are not drinking kool-aid. They are curious, skeptical, interested in getting additional information about the risks and benefits of drugs and devices.
Finally, the ongoing effort to ban pharma payments to doctors is part of a larger effort to substitute information provided by or supported by industry by groups that want to impose their views and control all medical information.
Diffusion of innovation is evil to the opponents of pharma supported KOL. So is any research or clinical finding funded by drug companies. This is a purist and paranoid view of science.
Meanwhile, pharmalot is hosting a webinar on a subject every drug company and doctor should be paying attention to. I encourage everyone to tune in.
How Can Pharma Use Social Media for Real-Time Intelligence and Research?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
2:00 p.m. ET | 11:00 a.m. PT
Webcast Duration: 1 hour
Registration: $59
Register Now - Click Here!
Paying doctor as consultants or to speak about products/treatments is problematic when the physician in question is not an expert or not disclosing the payment. And it's no more problematic than a doctor who is paid to write or speak against a product or even does so because of an ideological or cultural belief that any new drug is inherently useless or overhyped. In fact, the latter case is even more troubling since it is shaped not by science or clinical practice but an agenda.
Second, having attended sessions where KOL have spoken (and disclosed support) it is obvious that doctors are not drinking kool-aid. They are curious, skeptical, interested in getting additional information about the risks and benefits of drugs and devices.
Finally, the ongoing effort to ban pharma payments to doctors is part of a larger effort to substitute information provided by or supported by industry by groups that want to impose their views and control all medical information.
Diffusion of innovation is evil to the opponents of pharma supported KOL. So is any research or clinical finding funded by drug companies. This is a purist and paranoid view of science.
Meanwhile, pharmalot is hosting a webinar on a subject every drug company and doctor should be paying attention to. I encourage everyone to tune in.
How Can Pharma Use Social Media for Real-Time Intelligence and Research?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
2:00 p.m. ET | 11:00 a.m. PT
Webcast Duration: 1 hour
Registration: $59
Register Now - Click Here!
