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Caveats on Drug Information

Some drug industry critics question the objectivity of the clinical information provided by health plans and other companies. Dr. John Abramson, a family doctor who teaches at Harvard Medical School and who recently published a book, Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine (HarperCollins, 2004), says the source of any such bias is not the databases but the scientific journal articles from which they draw information.

“The best of the decision tools still have to rely on research that is funded by the drug industry,” Abramson says. “And we know that when a drug company—as opposed to the government—sponsors a study, the odds are five times greater that the conclusion will favor the product in question.”

In other words, Abramson maintains, what passes for medical research is sometimes little more than marketing copy. And economist Paul Zane Pilzer, whose latest book, The New Health Insurance Solution (Wiley, 2005), is on health savings accounts, says shopping intelligently for prescription drugs involves more than comparing the costs and benefits of particular pills. Consumers must also step back and reflect on why they are taking a given drug and what nondrug alternatives might be available, he says.

Pilzer, whose previous book was The Wellness Revolution (Wiley, 2003), believes that a more holistic approach to health care could significantly reduce costs for both employers and employees.

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