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Drug Sampling Fact Sheet FINAL
Drug Sampling Fact Sheet FINAL
On the other hand, critics of drug sampling note that, because the free sample practice bypasses the
pharmacy, patients may have an increased safety risk if they are taking a medication prescribed by
another doctor, which may react with the sample drug. Such drug interactions can be caught at the
pharmacy when both prescriptions are filled, but not if one of the drugs is a sample.
In addition, free samples of branded medications may serve as an incentive to practitioners to write
prescriptions for those branded drugs as opposed to generics. A study published in the Southern Journal
of Medicine found that physicians were three times more likely to write prescriptions for generic drugs
for uninsured patients after those clinics ended their free drug sampling program, resulting in a decrease
in cost to those patients. 2
Finally, less than one-third of patients receiving free drug samples have low incomes, according to a
study conducted by Harvard Medical School Researchers.3
Given the varying opinions of the effects of free drug sampling, collecting the data from manufacturers
will be a step toward learning more about the true impact of the practice.
This fact sheet was researched and prepared by Krista Maier on 7/14/10.