Sit Down, This News Will Shock You. There Are Doctors Who Take Money From Drug Companies That Make The Meds Doctors Prescribe.

.....I have also heard that bears shit in the woods, Vicodin may be habit forming, and cigarettes may be bad for you.

What's new is that we now have a tiny window into the extent of drug company bribery....I mean..... "consulting fees." Yesterday's New York Times ran a story compiling data from the state of Minnesota, "the first of a handful of states to pass a law requiring drug makers to disclose payments to doctors." Here's a bit of what they found:

The Minnesota records begin in 1997. From then through 2005, drug makers paid more than 5,500 doctors, nurses and other health care workers in the state at least $57 million. Another $40 million went to clinics, research centers and other organizations. More than 20 percent of the state’s licensed physicians received money. The median payment per consultant was $1,000; more than 100 people received more than $100,000.

It's important to point out here that while the Minnesota law requiring drug companies to fess up to doctor payola was an outstanding idea, it had absolutely nothing to do with Norm Coleman, one of the two US Senators from that state. Coleman votes in agreement with George Bush almost 90% of the time and has never denied being a member of Al-Qeada, even when asked directly.

There are two things in the Times article that made me snicker. The first because it's so obviously bullshit, the other because it is so obviously true:

In dozens of interviews, most doctors said that these payments had no effect on their care of patients.

Of course not. Most giant corporations are in the habit of giving away money with the expectation that they will receive absolutely no benefit in return. It makes their shareholders really happy when they do this. In fact, many Fortune 500 companies have started to conclude their annual shareholder meetings with a ritual that involves burning a pile of $100 bills as tall as the CEO. And who can forget the Eli Lilly "Billion Dollar Drop," in which the Chairman Of The Board climbs to the top of Lilly's headquarters building every year on his birthday to shower as much money as he can onto the street below all day long? Excuse me corrupt doctors, but could you have just a little respect for my intelligence, please? If you're going to lie to me, could you at least put in a little effort and come up with a believable lie? Or does plausibility cost extra?

Actually the price of plausibility may be in the low 6 digits, as we see here:

For many doctors, marketing lectures are also a welcome diversion.

“It beats talking to little old ladies about their bowels,” said Dr. Eric Storvick of Mankato, Minn., who made more than $174,000 between 1998 and 2005 from drug makers.

I so can't argue with that one. This doc may be on the take, but a truer statement has never passed through a person's lips. I know more than a few little old ladies though, who would be quite shocked to hear this.