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Doctors Prescribe Expensive Blood Pressure Medications

The December 2003 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine reports that doctors tend to prescribe more expensive blood pressure medications than equally effective, less expensive alternatives.

Researcher Dr. Peter Ubel of the University of Michigan Medical School found that the doctors who prescribe the expensive drugs are more likely to offer patients free samples of the drugs provided by the drug company sales representatives.

“The industry influence is pervasive,” Ubel says. “I think a lot of physicians do rely on sales representatives to tell them about the latest medications out there.”

“It may seem like the doctor’s helping patients get more affordable medicine, but it’s not a lifetime supply,” he says. “After the free samples run out, the patient is left to pay for a more expensive drug.”

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