Campaign seeks to counter influence of pharma sales reps

The Boston Globe on Monday examined the Independent Drug Service project, a $1 million campaign in Pennsylvania that sends consultants to inform physicians about the effectiveness of different medications based on scientific evidence to "combat the sales pitches" of pharmaceutical companies.

According to the Globe, pharmaceutical company sales representatives, who visit physicians to increase the number of prescriptions that physicians write for their medications, often "wrongly hype expensive new drugs when older, cheaper treatments work just as well."

The campaign, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and administered by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, includes a team of 10 consultants who have made about 1,200 visits to about 500 physicians in the state.

In addition, the campaign includes about six internists and Harvard Medical School instructors who provide talking points that physicians can use to discuss medications with patients.

Jerome Avorn, a Harvard Medical School professor and a leader of the campaign, said that the effort could expand to other states later this year (Henderson, Boston Globe, 2/26).