As prescription drug prices rise, politicians, journalists, physicians and pharmaceutical companies play the blame game. It used to be that drug companies received all the grief but their recent rebuttals have put the magnifying glass on others, especially doctors.

In the face of FDA advisory committees and Attorney General lawsuits, big name drug companies have volunteered to post results of all clinical trials, even those unfavorable to their products.

Others have followed suit. The AMA is developing criteria for a mandatory national registry of clinical trials, and more than 10 top medical journals announced they will only publish studies if all the clinical trials have been made available on a public registry.

However, authors of four new books still say the drug industry and doctors who profit from it care more about dollars than making sense of health problems. According to these experts, pharmaceutical firms invest in getting the support they want -- from taking a doctor out to lunch to funding most medical studies.

Several experts from various fields showed concern over "me-too" drugs, or prescription medications that are similar to others on the market. Critics say companies do this to save money because the process is easier than finding breakthrough medications, which are sorely needed. Pharmaceutical company officials insist these medications work better in some patients than the original drug and they offer patients a cheaper alternative.

Experts say it is hard to find researchers who have no ties to drug companies and that they should be the ones coming out about negative studies.

Still, others say the only source for information is the drug companies and the need for neutral sources is great. Some states have taken this problem into their own hands and will send out pharmaceutical experts to visit practices and promote cost-effective treatments.

USA Today September 14, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Though drugs are sometimes appropriate and at times can save a person's life, most of the time they are unnecessary, harmful and expensive. In my opinion, drug companies are driven by profits and have used their power to influence many areas of medicine. What is most unfortunate is that this has resulted in many biased studies, which ultimately lead to misleading information to the public. The drug companies' intentions are evident in the $3 billion that was spent in 2002 for advertising costs and the vast amounts of money they donate toward grants and scholarships used to fund the costs of medical schools. Their motives don't stop there as they are also spending about $15 billion a year on physician marketing. And while doctors play a role in the drugging of America, it's not completely their fault. Most physicians have no clue that the drug companies are spending (on average) $10,000 per doctor to influence their behavior. The doctors, of course, do not receive a check, but the perks can be quite significant. One of the books in this article touches on all these aspects: "The Truth about Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It," by Dr. Marcia Angell. I also recommend the book "Trust Us We're Experts." Related Articles: Drug Firms Ignore Federal Law, Not Reporting Studies How Could Drug Companies be so Evil? U.S. Drug Researcher Imprisoned for FDA Fraud Odds Are The Drug Industry is Paying Off Your Doctor Questions Arise on U.S. Drug Policy