It’s the new Hippocratic oath, apparently. The AMA made $44 million last year on the unethical sale of doctors’ prescribing information to Big Pharma. And what does Big Pharma do with the info?

One of the less obvious but more intrusive marketing tools is the drug rep’s hand-held computer, which contains a detailed profile of your doctor’s prescribing history. Armed with the knowledge of each doctor’s individual prescribing habits, pharmaceutical sales representatives tailor their pitches to each physician. This strategy has resulted in new, costlier drugs replacing established medications that have proven histories of safety and effectiveness. Industry profits swell, as do the nation’s health care costs.

Now, let’s just think about that. Big Pharma’s response to physicians prescribing safe, effective and cheap medication is to figure out ways to make them prescribe new, expensive, unproven medications instead.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Do not fill a prescription for a new drug. Unless you’re terminally ill and willing to try anything to stay alive, don’t volunteer to be a guinea pig for Big Pharma.

Ideally, you don’t want to take anything that hasn’t been around for at least ten years. Side effects of your drug will have become apparent and odds are, it’s cheaper, too.

The next time you see one of those commercials about how much some pharmaceutical company cares about helping people, remember this.