Health · Pharma & Biotech · 2 days ago
Review links drug company gifts to more and less appropriate prescribing
A review combining results from 93 studies found that doctors who received gifts or payments from drug companies tended to prescribe more often and choose less suitable medicines.
The studies were conducted in the United States and several European countries, not Canada.
Researchers said the evidence for these effects was strong, and that company advertising or education for doctors may also encourage inappropriate prescribing.
Policies that restrict or manage contacts between companies and doctors probably improve prescribing practices.
More prescribing and less suitable choices may add to health care costs.
Canada has no national requirement for drug companies to disclose payments to doctors, and the review’s co-author said the findings could apply there.
The federal government says regulating physicians is a provincial and territorial responsibility, while Ontario’s disclosure law never took effect.
The review found too little evidence to say whether free drug samples or other promotions affect which medicines hospitals approve and stock.iyanas
A Cochrane review of 93 studies found that gifts and payments from pharmaceutical companies were associated with more prescriptions and less appropriate prescribing.
The review included 82 studies from the United States and others from France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The review found that policies restricting or managing interactions between drug companies and doctors probably improved prescribing practices.
Researchers said there was not enough evidence to determine whether free drug samples and other promotions affected which medicines hospitals placed on formularies.
Innovative Medicines Canada said its code bars gifts and personal benefits but permits reasonable meals and compensation for some professional activities.
Co-author Joel Lexchin said the findings could apply to Canada and called for mandatory disclosure of payments to health professionals.
- Who
- Researchers behind a Cochrane review of pharmaceutical industry promotion and doctors’ prescribing
- What
- A review found that gifts and payments from drug companies were associated with more frequent and less appropriate prescribing.
- When
- The review was released on Thursday; the articles were published on October 9, 2026.
- Where
- The review covered studies from the United States and six European countries; it had no Canadian data.
- Why
- Researchers examined whether interactions between pharmaceutical companies and doctors affect prescribing.
Joel Lexchin and the review’s researchers
Innovative Medicines Canada
Whether the findings apply to Canada
Joel Lexchin and the review’s researchers
Lexchin said the review’s findings could apply to Canada because drug companies promote medicines in Canada in much the same way as in the United States.
Innovative Medicines Canada
Innovative Medicines Canada said Canada and the United States have different regulatory and disclosure frameworks, which matter when comparing practices.
Industry interactions with health professionals
Joel Lexchin and the review’s researchers
The review found that gifts and payments were associated with more prescribing and less appropriate prescribing, while policies managing company-doctor interactions probably improved prescribing.
Innovative Medicines Canada
The association said its code prohibits gifts and personal benefits, while allowing reasonable meals during promotional activities and compensation for certain professional work.
We found high-certainty evidence that gifts and payments have a harmful effect on prescribing appropriateness and are associated with higher volumes of prescribing
Based on the 45 years that I’ve been looking at these issues, it’s pretty clear to me the way that the drug companies promote their drugs here in Canada is the same as the way that they promote them in the United States
The vast majority of the studies, all but one, showed that exposure to the promotional activity of gifts or payments made the prescribing less appropriate
Canada and the U.S. operate under different regulatory and disclosure frameworks. These differences are important context when comparing practices between the two countries
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Studies reviewed
- 93
- Studies from the United States
- 82
- European countries represented
- France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom
- Canadian data
- None; the article says companies in Canada are not required to declare payments to physicians.
- Ontario disclosure law
- The Health Sector Payment Transparency Act was enacted in 2017 but never came into force.
Sources
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