Free Prescription Drug Samples are Costing Patients: Medical Groups Wary

Perhaps the saying "there's no such thing as a free lunch" is true. New research has found that free prescription drug samples encourage doctors to prescribe more expensive and less effective medicines, costing patients more money.

In a study that took a close look at prescriptions written by dermatologists, researchers from Stanford University found that the free samples given to these doctors by the pharmaceutical companies might be influencing the prescriptions they write. The researchers analyzed dermatologists because they are the most likely to hand out free samples.

They found that dermatologists who receive and hand out free samples prescribe an average of $465 per office visit compared to $200 among those who do not distribute free samples. The evidence suggests the free prescription samples might be influencing doctors' prescribing habits for two reasons: credibility and money.

"Once doctors have given a free trial pack, it's hard for them to prescribe a different generic drug," said Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman of Georgetown University, in this NPR article. "That would look really inconsistent."

"So some physicians - in all specialties - end up prescribing an expensive branded drug when a cheaper alternate is available," she added.

The two studies, "Drug Samples in Dermatology: Out of the Closet, Into the Dustbin" and "Characterizing the Relationship Between Free Drug Samples and Prescription Patterns for Acne Vulgaris and Rosacea" were both published in JAMA Dermatology yesterday. The first looked at the opinions of dermatologists on the issue of free drug samples, with many advocating it and many opposing it. The second study investigated prescribing patterns among dermatologists for Acne Vulgaris and Rosacea, finding that the doctors were more likely to prescribe branded generic versions if they were given free samples.

And the numbers don't lie. The percentage of free samples given to dermatologists increased 6% from 2001 to 2010, with $6.3 billion worth handed out. If the pharmaceutical companies are willing to invest billions of dollars into free samples, the strategy must be paying off.

To read more about free prescription drug samples, visit this Los Angeles Times article.