Free Drug Samples: Not so Healthy

Well, those who say the best things in life are free . . .they could be wrong when it comes to free drug samples.  The New York Times reports today,

Patients like going home with free samples because it saves them a trip to the drugstore and a co-pay, and doctors are happy to oblige, because samples help patients get started on treatment right away.

But now some leading academic medical centers are restricting the use of samples, and a smattering of physician practices are shutting down the sample cabinet. These critics say doctors should be choosing the most appropriate medication for a patient based on the best scientific evidence available — not just grabbing something from the office stash that happens to fit the bill.

“The doctor will say, ‘Here, start on this, and let’s see how it works,’ ” said David J. Rothman, president of the Institute on Medicine as a Profession, a research group at Columbia. “The question to the doctor is: If you didn’t have it in your drawer, would that have been your drug of choice?”

The crackdown on free samples comes amid growing concern about the close ties between physicians and drug companies. Critics like Dr. Rothman say physicians don’t realize the extent to which their medical judgment is influenced by their acceptance of the samples. They point to studies like a 2002 paper in the journal Annals of Family Medicine finding that the number of doctors who treated high blood pressure with the “first line” drugs recommended by national guidelines was low, but increased sharply when free samples were removed. . . . .

But there’s an upside to the samples. Using samples, a doctor can see if a patient can tolerate a new medication before the patient goes out and buys a 30-day supply. Physicians who treat poor people like to have samples on hand for them, and for uninsured patients.

Samples also provide patients with the convenience of one-stop shopping, said Dr. Hema A. Sundaram, a dermatologist in suburban Washington. “Usually a patient has waited some time to see a doctor and rearranged their whole working schedule, and then it may be another four or five days before they can fill a prescription,” she said. “They’re often busy, working people, with family responsibilities. I feel there shouldn’t be any further delay.” (Dr. Sundaram acknowledges that she is paid for speaking on behalf of drug companies.)

And many physicians say they like using samples because the sales representatives are an important source of medical education, helping to keep the doctors up to date on the latest therapies.

As for the bottom line, it’s not at all clear that samples save patients money. Critics say they may actually drive up the cost of health care in the long run, because the drugs being promoted are the most expensive brand-name medications. Since many conditions require lifelong treatment, the patient would have to buy the medicine sooner or later.

“You’re going to be paying more, because you’re taking the new, advanced drug,” Dr. Rothman said. “And you may have done just fine on the old-fashioned generic.”