GPs influenced by drug companies, say 60% of doctors
Some 15% of GPs polled said they had enjoyed purely social events such as rugby trips abroad paid for by the pharmaceutical industry.
The figures were revealed in last night's RTÉ Prime Time programme investigation into the prescription of anti-depressants.
Information gathered by the programme revealed: 300,000 people were prescribed anti-depressants in 2002 one in ten of the adult population.
This included 200,000 medical card holders representing one in six of all card holders.
The number of prescriptions doubled between 1993 and 2002 to 1.5 million.
A survey of GPs carried out by Lansdowne Market Research on behalf of Prime Time showed that:
70% had some concerns about the side-effects of anti-depressants;
75% were visited several times a week by drug company sales representatives;
30% said sponsorship by drug companies would have an influence on them;
60% said the sponsorship would have an influence on other GPs.
Dr Tom O'Dowd, professor of general practice at Trinity College Dublin, expressed serious concern at the influence of drug company-sponsored trips on GPs.
"The trips are bribery and has to be seen as such, for both the industry and doctors. Both sides are naive and even worse if they think it's not influential.
"The research evidence is there that we are influenced by the goodies and perks we receive. Doctors will always say 'I'm not influenced'. We all are. We are very human," Dr O'Dowd said.
Prime Time carried out an experiment in the programme in which they sent a young man to 15 GP surgeries complaining he had depression-related symptoms.
Even though he fulfilled only three of the five minimum symptoms recommended by the World Health Organisation, all 15 doctors prescribed him medication, 14 of them anti-depressants.
In a follow-on experiment, the youth went to another 15 surgeries and complained of only one symptom. In nine cases he was prescribed medication.
Dr Seán McGrath, who was not one of the 15 GPs, said increased prescription rates in the country reflected the fact that GPs were recognising depression more.
He rejected claims that GPs prescribed anti-depressants in return for trips and said doctors prescribed on the basis of the clinical evidence available to them.
Dr Terry Lynch, author of Beyond Prozac, claimed GPs knew very little about counselling, even though it was as effective as medication.
"Pharmaceutical companies have managed to infiltrate into doctors' minds the message that medication is the way," he said.
