The pharmaceutical industry in Connecticut is a multi-billion dollar sector—and a chunk of that money goes to gifts for drug-prescribing healthcare workers.
The first ever Pharmaceutical Marketing Firm Report conducted by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) found that in 2023, pharmaceutical companies spent more than one million dollars on “non-medical gifts” to prescribing practitioners and pharmacists.
The combined worth of the top five gifting pharmaceutical companies was $1,354,286.86. The two largest givers by far are AbbVie, which gifted practitioners and pharmacists $497,910.25 worth of gifts, followed by Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, which gave $455,838.51 worth of gifts.
The other top gifting companies, Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen Inc., gave $147,989.27, $133,639.89, and $118,908.94, respectively.
These gifts do not include costs that come with educational sessions and conferences.
None of these pharmaceutical companies responded to requests for comment.
The Connecticut legislature passed “An Act Protecting Patients and Prohibiting Unnecessary Health Care Costs,” which took effect in October 2023. This act requires, among other things, pharmaceutical companies to report their marketing activity. This includes how many representatives they have in the state, how many meetings those representatives have with prescribing practitioners and pharmacists, and the value and type of gifts given.
The DCP defines a gift as, “anything that has monetary value that you obtain for less than ‘market value.’ A gift may be tangible or intangible and includes both objects (such as pens, t-shirts, and meals) and services (such as transportation, travel, and lodging).”
The Act does not state the specific definition of a “non-medical gift.” The DCP communications department did not respond to questions about non-medical gifts before publication.
A 2021 report from the Annals of Internal Medicine, which is cited in the Pharmaceutical Marketing Firm Report, found an association between payments made to physicians by the pharmaceutical industry and physicians prescribing drugs.
This law is meant to reduce healthcare costs and increase cost transparency, according to a 2023 press release from Governor Ned Lamont’s office. The release was published after the law was signed.
In the press release, Lamont—who proposed the law—said, “The quality of Connecticut’s health care system is among the best in the nation, however rising costs make accessing health coverage a barrier for far too many people… This is a complex issue that needs to be tackled from multiple angles and we need the involvement of all parties – insurers, hospitals, doctors, employers, and consumers – in this effort to provide real solutions to lower health care costs.”
The American Medical Association (AMA) discourages physicians from accepting any gifts from companies that do not directly benefit patients, and are of substantial value. Small gifts, such as pens and notebooks, are okay.
However, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) goes even further than the AMA and says that healthcare professionals should not accept even small things, like pens and clipboards, even if they do not have a company’s logo on them.
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