The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Doctors Who Take Pharmaceutical Money Use Twitter to Hype Drugs

Doctors Who Take Pharmaceutical Money Use Twitter to Hype Drugs

September 12, 2017 • By Ronnie Cohen

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

Rose advises patients to ask their doctors about possible conflicts of interest. In the U.S., patients can look up physicians’ relationships with drug manufacturers on a website from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services called Open Payments Data.

You Might Also Like
  • Twitter Is Key Learning, Networking Tool for Rheumatologists
  • Drug Company Gifts Linked to Doctors’ Prescribing Habits
  • Fellows Forum: Helpful Twitter Follows & Chats for Fellows in Training

Kanter suggests that patients who learn their doctors have conflicts of interest consider getting a second opinion.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Prasad began thinking about conflicts of interest in tweets a few years ago, when he got into a Twitter dispute about whether physicians should engage in a debate over drug costs.

As the argument heated up, Prasad divided the dueling doctors into two camps—those in favor of discussing the price of drugs and those opposed. Then he looked up which ones took money from drug companies.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Of five physicians who argued that doctors should advocate for lower drug costs, only one had taken money from a drug company, and it was a single $400 payment. The five who argued that doctors should stay out of the discussion of drug prices had taken payments of between $20,000 and $30,000, Prasad says.

Earlier this year, Prasad published his first study on tweeting doctors. Nearly 80% of more than 600 U.S. hematologist-oncologists who tweeted had a conflict, his report in JAMA Internal Medicine found.2

Doctors should disclose possible conflicts in their Twitter profile biographies, possibly with a link to more complete disclosure, Prasad and his colleagues wrote in the earlier study. When doctors tweet about products from companies with which they have conflicts, the researchers advised using the hashtag abbreviation for financial conflict of interest—#FCOI.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

References

  1. Kaestner V, Brown A, Tao D, et al. Conflicts of interest in Twitter. Lancet Haematol. 2017 Sep;4(9):e408-e409. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(17)30109-6.
  2. Tao DL, Boothby A, McLouth J, Prasad V. Financial conflicts of interest among hematologist-oncologists on Twitter. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Mar 1;177(3):425–427. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.8467.

Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Filed Under: Apps, Technology Tagged With: Conflict of interest, Social Media, Twitter

You Might Also Like:
  • Twitter Is Key Learning, Networking Tool for Rheumatologists
  • Drug Company Gifts Linked to Doctors’ Prescribing Habits
  • Fellows Forum: Helpful Twitter Follows & Chats for Fellows in Training
  • Glaxo’s Move on Physician Compensation Could Signal Shift in Pharmaceutical Promotions

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)