During a second-year pharmacology course in medical school, our instructor was talking about the influence of pharmaceutical reps. He asked us to raise our hands if we would be influenced by a $1m gift. Most raised their hands. Then he asked us to keep them up if we would be influenced by a free car. Some hands dropped. Then a gift card for nice clothes. Still more hands dropped. Finally, he asked if we would be influenced by a slice of pizza.
I was the only person with my hand still up.
People really like to believe that they are above being influenced. People are wrong. It's OK, we just need to try to continue to redesign our medical system with that in mind.
Reminds me of the quote by George Bernard Shaw[1]:
Shaw: Madam, would you sleep with me for a million pounds?
Actress: My goodness, Well, I'd certainly think about it
Shaw: Would you sleep with me for a pound?
Actress: Certainly not! What kind of woman do you think I am?!
Shaw: Madam, we've already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.
Apparently (to my surprise) the attribution of this quote is disputed, but he's the person I first attributed it.
In the Talmud it mentions how judges are not permitted any sort of gift whatsoever.
It talks about one Judge who had a tenant. The tenant brought his rent early one day and asked the Judge to rule for him in a dispute. The Judge refused the case, and referred him to someone else.
The Judge happened to hear part of the case, and immediately his thoughts turned to arguments on how he could help his tenant. The lesson being that even getting a payment that was already his, not even an extra gift, influenced him. And this was a very prestigious judge.
How much more so an actual gift to more ordinary people.
Great post till the last sentence. But that sentence is doozy.
It's OK, we just need to try to continue to redesign our medical system with that in mind.
"We"? "continue to redesign?" - I'd never question that health care is being constantly redesigned. But given that the present situation is product of the previous redesignings, would not you say that the "they (big pharma, etc)" redesigning to keep their profits and influence up has so-far outpaced, beaten "us" redesigning? That the continuing process is broken, that if "we" is patients or doctors or whoever is most concerned with patients' well-being, "we" have to get off our duffs and do something if we are going have even a modest expectation of positive outcomes here?
I was the only person with my hand still up.
People really like to believe that they are above being influenced. People are wrong. It's OK, we just need to try to continue to redesign our medical system with that in mind.