Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

1
Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry
Name
Institution
Course
Professor
Due Date
2
Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

Important issues emerge regarding money, direct-to-consumer advertising, patients'
education, and the interaction between pharmaceutical industries and medical practitioners. The
ethical implications are extensive and include the involvement of physicians who endorse
medicines, the influence of TV advertisements, and pharmaceutical representatives' interactions
with decision-makers. The complex nature of these relationships is highlighted in this discourse,
with their impact on patients and the healthcare system addressed. It concludes that there is a
need for careful balancing of technological innovation, informed decision-making, and ethical
practice in order to ensure the protection of patients’ health. Overall, doctors should not be paid
to market drugs, and the information should be regulated by educating consumers and avoiding
luncheons with pharmaceutical companies, as this leads to ethical issues.
There are ethical issues that arise due to doctors receiving payment to recommend certain
drugs, which undermines the sanctity associated with the patient-doctor relationship. It is quite
legitimate for a medical professional to remain updated on any pharmaceutical development;
however, financial agreements with drug companies could pose a conflict of interest and
compromise the core responsibility of a physician, that is, the patient’s welfare. This undermines
the basic foundation of trust upon which quality health care can exist, where patients consider
that their trusted family doctors are selling them particular medications because of monetary
gains (Zarei, 2023). The resultant dynamics would increase doubts in the minds of some patients
as to the genuineness of the medical recommendation or prescription they receive from doctors
who happen to be shareholders or who have some deals with pharmaceutical companies. This is
an important ethical issue that should be considered because it affects both how people take care
of individual patients and the credential of the medical profession itself, which includes the
medical advisory and prescription plans of physicians. Clear guidelines should be put in place as
a means of avoiding conflicts of interest to circumvent medical decisions being influenced by
money-driven motives.
Moreover, it opens up an intricate ethical issue in medicine when talking about direct-to-
consumer ads for drugs such as Viagra. The use of advertisements as a strategy for educating
society in various areas leads to the creation of an informed population interested in discussing
their health issues. These advertisements are purposely made with colorful visual and audible
signals that aim to de-stigmatize some of the diseases so as to persuade people not to hide such
problems, which could be resolved (PharmD, 2023). Nonetheless, such ads can also raise
concerns about how patients may be prompted to demand specific medications whose medical
need is still not understood well enough and/or which other alternatives exist. Critics contend
that such commercials could potentially focus more on advertising than genuine education,
which might put patients under emotional appeal with catchy slogans, and they would end up
asking the medical provider for the drugs themselves. Such a dynamic can threaten the
conventional doctor-patient relationship, as patients may demand that doctors give them
advertised medications rather than medicines proven to be clinically effective. One key ethical
dilemma is that it should be established whether these advertisements find the right balance
between patient information and the promotion of a type of health care system based upon
market forces, which eventually will determine the actual medical decisions made at a particular
moment. To strike such a balance, it is imperative to respect patient autonomy and avoid
deleterious effects on patient preferences resulting from pharmaceutical marketing.
To avoid such issues, Americans should be educated about drugs, as this forms the basis
of a healthcare system where patients are involved in decision-making. The knowledgeable
3
person can actively participate in conversations concerning their health, interpret what drugs
would mean for them, and take decisions that are appropriate to themselves. Education on
comprehensive medication should include details such as the purpose of the medication, side
effects, drug interactions, and lifestyle issues. A knowledgeable consumer can easily express
themselves to the health care providers, ask relevant questions, and jointly make decisions.
Additionally, comprehension of medications may improve compliance with recommended
regimens, which may eventually aid in improving treatment effectiveness (Wood, 2022).
Similarly, it is important to inform consumers of trustworthy information and steer them away
from questionable sources that might be false or unfair. Through educating the public, messages
from regulating agencies, health care providers, and educational institutes will enable
communities to take appropriate health-informed decisions. With the emergence of higher
medical complexity and the availability of information at hand, educating on medicine literacy
stands out as a crucial component of general health literacy. It is meant not only to ensure that
people are informed but also active partners in their own health care, instead of just patients.
Patients should not tell doctors the brand of antibiotics that they prefer. It is usually
recommended that in a doctor-patient relationship, patients should state their symptoms and
concerns and leave the healthcare professional to decide on appropriate treatment options, such
as the selection of an antibiotic. Patients might be in possession of information regarding
different antibiotic brands; however, it is necessary to realize that physicians evaluate many
parameters, like the nature of a particular infection, the antibiogram, and the medical history of a
patient, among others, prior to prescribing any medications (MacKenzie-Smith et al., 2018).
Patients and doctors are advised to engage in a collaborative conversation about treatment
options but not dictate any particular drug, which in turn has the potential to hinder the doctor’s
ability to tailor prescriptions to fit the individual circumstances of their patient. It should be
noted that using the prescribed antibiotics implies trusting in the professional skills of medical
personnel and proving evidence-based medicine, which guarantees desired positive effects
among patients.
“Information” luncheons with government officials and other medical personnel, offered
by pharmaceutical representatives, raise ethical questions because of their possible influence and
conflicts of ethics. Such interactions may instill a subtle form of hospitality in them, which may
affect or compromise their objectivity. An example is the case of a producer company known as
Purdue Pharma that was sued for allegations against the firm’s sales representatives, who had
established connections with healthcare providers in order to market their product. Lavish
dinners and sponsored events were cited as having something to do with the opioid epidemic,
just like Purdue Pharma's OxyContin (PBS, 2023). In order to protect the integrity of healthcare
decision-making and preserve faith in governance, laws prohibiting such interactions should be
instituted because the latter is grounded in hospitality, which could undermine health care
delivery.
Matters of ethics in relation to pharmaceuticals as well as health care stress transparency,
patient education, and the protection of the doctor-patient relationship. Although medical
upgrades have made health care more resilient, it has become an imperative measure to conduct
such changes ethically. Building an ethical health care system that puts patients’ interests first,
informed decision-making, and regulatory alertness will be a way forward towards medical
technology benefiting its people. Patients should only be allowed to share their symptoms and
not recommend the brand of drugs they want as prescribed by the FDA. Nonetheless, the FDA
4
should not hastily approve drugs before clearly testing them to mitigate their detrimental impacts
on consumers.
5
References
MacKenzie-Smith, L., Marchi, P., Thorne, H., Timeus, S., Young, R., & Le Calvé, P. (2018).
Patient Preference and Physician Perceptions of Patient Preference for Oral
Pharmaceutical Formulations: Results from a Real-Life Survey. Inflammatory intestinal
diseases, 3(1), 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1159/000493346
PBS. (2023, November 23). Supreme Court to decide on legality of OxyContin maker’s
settlement plan with victims of opioid crisis. PBS NewsHour.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/supreme-court-to-decide-on-legality-of-oxycontin-
makers-settlement-plan-with-victims-of-opioid-crisis#:~:text=Purdue%20Pharma
PharmD, A. J. (2023, August 21). Patient Education & Information Overload. Clinical Advisor.
https://www.clinicaladvisor.com/home/topics/practice-management-information-center/
patient-education-information/
Wood, A. (2022, April 15). Improving health outcomes through patient education: how do we
get it right? Digital Health Technology News; Big Data.
https://www.healthtechdigital.com/improving-health-outcomes-through-patient-
education-how-do-we-get-it-right/
Zarei, E., Ghaffari, A., Nikoobar, A., Bastami, S., & Hamdghaddari, H. (2023). Interaction
between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry: A scoping review for developing a
policy brief. Frontiers in public health, 10, 1072708.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1072708

Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

Ethical Dilemmas in The Pharmaceutical Industry

You might also like