Influencing Physicians, One Ad At A Time

Drug and device makers spend millions of dollars in advertising at medical conferences each year. But do ads necessarily lead to influence? And how does this affect the quality of care?

Every year, drug and device makers pour millions of dollars into advertisements at professional medical conferences. Plastering logos across buses, water coolers, keycards and more [1], these companies make their presence known hoping to persuade specialists to use their products.

While advertisements in and of themselves seem harmless, critics question the influence this money can have on professional groups that are also largely responsible for the writing guidelines on treatments and the use of medical devices. ProPublica senior reporters Charlie Ornstein and Tracy Weber investigate this issue in their latest report [2] and join the podcast this week to discuss the implications that financial influence can have on the medical community.

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