Drug company gifts to MDs

Executive Summary

According to HHS Inspector General draft report, "pharmaceutical companies were more likely to offer gifts and payments to physicians who were frequent prescribers than to those who were infrequent prescribers." The IG surveyed 1,000 MDs from the fall of 1990 to the fall of 1991. The IG draft states that 27% of the MDs reported receipt of "inappropriate" gifts or payments at least once during the year examined and that such gifts were offered at least once to "36% of physicians who wrote at least 50 Rxs a week".