This week I read an article on Bloomberg that stated a startling statistic: doctors received over $6.5 billion from drug and medical-device manufacturers in 2014 alone. This raises a number of ethical questions regarding the situation. For instance, do the doctors who receive more money from certain pharmaceutical companies tend to prescribe their medications more often, even if they're not necessarily needed? Do the doctors then favor one type of medication over another, potentially safer one because they get paid to prescribe it? We have to really consider if this is a practice that we would want to continue so that we get the best service/healthcare and not have it be at the whim of the pharmaceutical companies and their large "wallets?" This is one reason why something like the Affordable Care Act is so important, ensuring the money in our healthcare system goes to the right place, especially the doctors who feel forced to rely on the extra income from the companies that produce the medical equipment/medicines. Then it may not be an issue.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-30/doctors-got-6-5-billion-in-14-from-drug-device-makers-in-u-s-
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