John Oliver on how drug companies persuade doctors to prescribe their products

In the clip below, courtesy of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver takes on prescription drug marketing in a clip that will leave you terrified, enraged, and laughing all at the same time. At a bit over 17 minutes, it’s a little longer than most of the clips I post here, but it’s worth it in terms of both entertainment value and information.


Link: http://youtu.be/YQZ2UeOTO3I

Oliver mentions a website where you can check to see how much your own doctors get from drug companies, and in case it went by too fast for you to make note of the link, here it is: http://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov. The website is run by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is another one of the lesser-known benefits of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Oliver also mentions that when you fill a prescription, your pharmacy sells the information so the drug companies can track exactly what your doctor is prescribing. If you’re wondering how that’s legal, remember that the drug companies don’t limit their generosity only to doctors.



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Comments

John Oliver on how drug companies persuade doctors to prescribe their products — 1 Comment

  1. This might be the best Last Week Tonight episode yet.

    With Jon Stewart leaving the Daily Show, we’ll need the back-ups to step it up.

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