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[Mid A 15]

I can't help but feel a bit cynical about all this.

I used to play cricket with a guy who worked as a rep for a major drugs company. The drugs company paid GPs to order and prescribe their products.

This was admittedly some years ago but if this situation still applies then could the opposition of the doctors to alternative therapies be based on fear of losing income from the drug companies rather than strictly clinical reasons?

[Richard Ruck]

I can't help but feel a bit cynical about all this.

I used to play cricket with a guy who worked as a rep for a major drugs company. The drugs company paid GPs to order and prescribe their products.

This was admittedly some years ago but if this situation still applies then could the opposition of the doctors to alternative therapies be based on fear of losing income from the drug companies rather than strictly clinical reasons?

That's a question for Toby Kibble. He hasn't posted for a while, but he does flog drugs for a living, so he'll be able to answer this.

I'll have a word.......

[AKAP]

I can't help but feel a bit cynical about all this.

I used to play cricket with a guy who worked as a rep for a major drugs company. The drugs company paid GPs to order and prescribe their products.

This was admittedly some years ago but if this situation still applies then could the opposition of the doctors to alternative therapies be based on fear of losing income from the drug companies rather than strictly clinical reasons?

Good point.
It is not in the drugs companies interest to pay for research into alternative therapies.
Hence no research gets done and they remain unproved.
Hardly a basis to reject them.

[BTaylor]

I can't help but feel a bit cynical about all this.

I used to play cricket with a guy who worked as a rep for a major drugs company. The drugs company paid GPs to order and prescribe their products.

This was admittedly some years ago but if this situation still applies then could the opposition of the doctors to alternative therapies be based on fear of losing income from the drug companies rather than strictly clinical reasons?

Good point.
It is not in the drugs companies interest to pay for research into alternative therapies.

Hence no research gets done and they remain unproved.
Hardly a basis to reject them.

I don' think anyone is saying that they should be rejected. Just that an NHS that needs to make every penny count should only prescribe what is proven to work.

There are plenty of private practitioners if people feel strongly enough about trying alternative solutions.

[Katharine]

I spent some time recently with a militant homeopath - very scary! If I know paracetomol will get rid of my headache, please let me take it. You can do whatever you like, I won't stop anyone else trying anything they believe will help them, but please let me do my own thing in peace.