25 Apr 2013 Jeff Stier, Pfizer CEO Criticize “Academic Detailing” in Health Care

Jeff Stier, director of the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Risk Analysis Division, asks Pfizer CEO Ian Read about his company’s position on “academic detailing.”  Academic detailing empowers academics selected by the government to guide how medical care and prescription drugs are delivered to patients, Jeff points out the program currently lacks transparency and creates a conflict of interest because the government seeks both quality care while demanding the cheapest costs.  Jeff further points out the system as it is currently set up could endanger patients because a standardized program might put patients prone to certain medical side effects at risk if only certain drugs are mandated under the new regulatory regime.

Pfizer CEO Ian Read replied that the beliefs of the National Center and Pfizer “100-percent coincide” and government efforts to run health care could result in an unfortunate “waste of money.”  Read also noted, regarding the issue of transparency, that the government’s representatives will not be bound by the same rules and standards that the medical industry is bound to, which could also cause problems.

This exchange took place at the Pfizer annual meeting of shareholders on 4/25/13.