Posted by: euser
March 09, 2009
Topic: Medical Products Liability

Pfizer has set aside $2.3 billion for EXPECTED fines for illegal marketing practices for this coming year. Drug and medical device companies have been faced with greatly increase fines for illegal marketing tactics, over the past year. An illegal marketing tactic is when a company pays a doctor excessively to hock their product. The main issue is not that the doctors are being paid to sell products, the main issue is that the doctors are not educated on the overall value or usefulness of the products. We as patients are not holding them accountable to taking care of us when we are sick or injured. We assume that doctors know the best treatment for us, fact is some doctors take the word of the drug companies and the device companies that their product is ideal for you.

Much of the debate surrounds the manufacturers repeatedly giving consulting payments in illegal schemes to persuade doctors to prescribe drugs or devices in inappropriate and unapproved ways. Federal officials are planning on attacking the connection between the manufacturers and the people. Doctors are now the focus of the Federal Regulators, hoping to expose those that are excepting kickbacks from those manufactures and to hit them with heavy fine and possible jail time for essentially accepting bribes to prescribe particular products.

Federal Regulators will also be pushing for similar laws, which are already in place in Minn. Drug and device company's would be required to publicly post any payments to doctors over $500. This in Minn. has given way to hospital systems regulating themselves to a higher degree, in what is in and used within their systems.

Web Resources

Legal links:

• Christian & Davis, LLC's main website
• South Carolina Bar Association
• American Association for Justice
• South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
• Findlaw
• Lawyers.com

Consumer and workers info links:

• Workcompcentral.com
• Home Safety Council
• People Over Profits Grassroots Action Center

Governmental links:

• South Carolina Judicial Department
• United States Judicial Department
• South Carolina Legislature
• Food and Drug Administration
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission

Nursing Home links:

• South Carolina LTC Ombudsman
• National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
• Member of the Family - Nursing Home Quality Trends & Staffing

Medical Resources:

• Lectric Law Library Lawcopedia's: Medical Malpractice
• New England Journal of Medicine
• Agency for Quality Health Care and Research
• Anatomy of the Human Body
• Workers Compensation Agencies
• National Library of Medicine
• Physician Profiles - Healthcare Choices
• AMA - Physician Sheet Health Grade
• Hospital Report Cards
• Merck Manual of Diagnosis & Therapy
• Merck Manual of Medical Information
• National Health Law Program HealthTouch
• Prescription Drug Information MedExplorer
• Medical Dictionaries