[Source: The Arizona Republic] – Pharmaceutical companies long have used office calls, free lunches and drug samples as ways to promote their products to physicians.
These perks are well-known strategies that drug representatives use to get face time to market products to busy doctors. Perhaps less well known is that drug companies also use cash, paying millions to physicians who act as consultants or speak to other doctors about the latest brand-name drugs.
Now, under pressure from Congress and legal settlements, companies for the first time are beginning to disclose payments made nationwide to doctors and medical professionals.
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