The Demise of American Medicine: Lawsuits and Federal Legislation

I recently read two news items back to back, one regarding a lawsuit and the other a physician-written editorial in Forbes.  My coincidental consumption of these two items left me wondering about the fundamental practice of medicine in the 21st century.  

Much has been made in the last couple of days regarding the lawsuit filed by two California counties against five large drug makers for waging a "campaign of deception" to inappropriately promote use of potent painkillers like Oxycontin.  Tom Lynch provided an insightful overview of the suit, particularly in his emphasis on the lawsuit's intentional and powerful analogy to the tobacco fight of the last century. 

Irrespective of the lawsuit's legal standing and chances of success, I find the nature of the suit itself to be a sad commentary on the nature of the medical profession.  No one directly employed by any of these pharma companies ever wrote a single script for an opioid.  Physicians wrote the scripts.  Some were ill-informed (purposefully, the suit claims).  Some were improperly influenced (despite their better judgment, one can only assume).  And some openly championed the broader use of opioids as Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), paid handsomely by the pharma companies to do so (leading, no doubt, to the aforementioned ill-informed group of physicians).      

Add to this Dr. Scott Gottlieb's piece in Forbes, "How American Doctors Lost Their Professional Autonomy."  He outlines the practical implications of the Sunshine Act, which requires doctors and pharma companies to disclose virtually every interaction they have with one another, from the ubiquitous giving away of simple pens to the $50,000 consulting fees paid to some doctors.  Gottlieb points out that this act is emblematic of a broader principle: "Underneath the imposition of the Sunshine Act is a far more troubling revelation: Washington has little faith in American physicians, and sees a need and a license to regulate just about every aspect of medical practice, even trinkets doctors receive.  There's a clear view that doctors can't be trusted to have any financial interactions with drug and device makers, no matter how small or simple these transactions."  He further cites the fundamental failure of professional medical societies to engage in any meaningful self-regulation, thus ceding that duty to the federal government.  Gottlieb calls this "the demise of American medicine."   

There are many, many more good doctors than bad.  But the bad doctors are certainly making it harder on the good ones to operate with the professional autonomy most doctors believe is required to deliver sound medical care.  

So where does that leave us?

Michael 

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