Industry payments to doctors on X (Twitter), another segment from the “I Love it When You Call Me Big Pharma” genre. ;) Seriously though…I know there are a lot of traditional doctors and researchers attacking moms selling essential oils on Instagram et al BUT….if more people focused on going after the obvious for-profit bias that permeates every level of our health system, we’d be in a far better position than we are. Just something to consider if you are one of those folks constantly going after the wellness “woo” peeps. Perhaps you”ll one day muster enough courage to go after Goliath (even if it is the hand that feeds you) and make an actual difference. (Sorry, Not sorry.)
On Episode 190 of Causes or Cures, I chatted with Dr. Aaron Mitchell about his recent research on pharmaceutical industry payments to medical doctors for promoting specific drugs on X (formerly known as Twitter). Dr. Mitchell describes the financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and doctors, the prevalence of this issue, and what is known about its impact on prescribing practices and patient outcomes. (This includes how much folks are paying out of pocket as well as health outcomes.) He also shares his thoughts on direct-to-consumer drug advertisements and offers solutions to mitigate the massive influence of pharmaceutical companies on our health system. Dr. Mitchell is an oncologist and health services researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC, with a research focus on the interaction between financial incentives and physician behavior. You can learn more about him and his work here.
After you listen to this podcast on industry payments to doctors on X, definitely scroll back through the podcast because several researchers (from multiple countries) have come on the podcast and discussed at least one aspect of industry’s ironclad grip on our healthcare system. Healthcare is unaffordable for so many and biased towards profit in so many ways…it’s just sad that the United States has devolved into a dystopia where people’s health is in the hands of a few rich corporate cronies. It’s just sad.
If you aren’t that interested in industry payments to doctors on X, you can try this podcast with a top Mayo Clinic Doctor who identified 4 different types of obesity, or essentially 4 different causes for obesity. If you struggle with your weight, LISTEN TO THIS ONE. It speaks to where, I believe, healthcare is heading- more precious medicine and more individualized approaches rather than the “one size fits all” solution. If you want a more fun and quirky podcast, I suggest this one with GI specialist Dr. David Clarke on the benefits of fart-walking. It won’t disappoint!