Us Doctors Under Fire For Anemia Drug Deal

U.S. doctors are currently criticized for being involved in prescribing high-end medicines for anemia in exchange for their clinics' rebates.

According to the New York Times report, hundreds of millions of dollars are pocketed by some American doctors as they prescribe pharmaceutical products to patients even if they don't need them. The drug companies Amgen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson were the two companies named to work in conspiracy with the questionable deals.

But the two companies said that they are not doing anything wrong. All their transactions were made in legal terms. Johnson & Johnson noted that the rebates were given since doctors purchase the products and dispense them in their clinics and this is a legal practice as a reflection of intense competition.

However, some critics are claiming the anemic pills called EPOs may be used by some doctors as prescribed drugs to anemic patients even if they don't need them at all just to get rebates. This exercise, according to them, is a form of bribery that should not be allowed in the medical practice. In 2006, it was reported that Amgen alone released $2.7 million as rebates and this continues to rise at the end of this year.

American medical companies provide anemia drugs to a million patients annually, making these medicines in demand and a source of revenues for major pharmaceutical companies like Amgen and Johnson & Johnson. Both of these companies reached the calculated $10-billion mark for their revenues in 2006.

Aside from bribery issues, patients are worried that these medicines may post some side effects such as stroke and other risks of heart attacks. Because of this, the FDA suggested the two companies to provide additional safety nets and better guidelines on its prescription and use of these anemia drugs.

Autor: Maynard Joseph Delfin

Maynard Joseph Delfin finished AB Journalism (cum laude) at the University of Santo Tomas. He has worked as book editor, deskman, copy editor and research and publications officer in leading publishing and research companies in the Philippines. Read more of his blogs at http://maynard_delfin.instablogs.com

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: January 18, 2008

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