UnSymmetrical

The pharmaceutical manufacturing giant Pfizer disclosed that it paid more than $20 million to 4,500 doctors and other medical professionals for consulting and speaking on its behalf in the last six months of 2009. In other words, those 4,500 doctors gave talks that forwarded the interests of drugs sold by Pfizer, and they performed consultations with an eye to selling Pfizer products in the deal. The sales angle did not necessarily need to be announced, meaning that attendees at the talks given by these doctors and those accepting consultations thought they were getting unbiased help. During that same period, Pfizer also paid $15.3 million to 250 academic medical centers and other research groups to sponsor clinical trials of their products.

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Posted by Vitamin Z at 06:10 AM | Permalink

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness each year in the US alone, causing about 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.

Posted by Vitamin Z at 06:53 AM | Permalink

For the first time in history, more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems. In 2007, 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 50 percent the previous four years and 47 percent in 2001. The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Posted by Vitamin Z at 06:11 PM | Permalink

The use of cholesterol-lowering pills - otherwise known as statins - rose by 156 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The number of people obtaining a prescription for a statin nearly doubled, from 15.8 milllion to 29.7 million.

Along with the usage, the register rang innumerable times - spending jumped during that period to $19.7 billion from $7.7 billion.

Posted by Vitamin Z at 02:51 PM | Permalink

Health care interests spent $445 million on federal lobbying in 2007, more than any other sector of the economy. This is the second year in a row that they were the top spenders.

In a more specific breakdown, pharmaceutical and medical products companies rank first with $227 million in spending, while health insurance companies spent the second-most at $138 million. Hospitals and nursing homes spent $91 million, ranking fifth, and health professionals spent $70 million, ranking 15th. HMOs and health services spent $52 million, ranking 19th.

The pharmaceutical industry has spent $1.3 billion on federal lobbying in the last decade, again more than any other industry. And the drug industry's reported lobbying increased by 25 percent from 2006 to 2007.

Posted by Vitamin Z at 02:13 PM | Permalink

A national study of male physicians in 2004 found that 44 percent were overweight and six percent were obese. And a survey taken at the American Medical Association convention in June of 2006 revealed that 66% of the attending doctors were either overweight or obese.

Posted by Vitamin Z at 07:04 AM | Permalink