Is This Ethical?

This smacks of coercion and enticement. It makes me ill to look at it. Blech.

Before retiring, I worked in the veterinary pharmaceutical distribution field. Incentives have been offered to not only veterinarians but also technicians, sales representatives and company upper management for many, many years. They may be called incentives, spiffs, rebates, etc. and can be quite lucrative. Veterinarians can receive prizes as mentioned in Purina’s ad or sometimes cash rebates or free goods. Sales representatives both on the company level and sometimes the practice level (technicians, assistants, groomers, etc.) can receive cash, trips, cars or other valuable prizes to push a particular product. Just a few extreme examples … one year a dermatology products manufacture offered salt water cultured pearls necklaces if you reached a certain level selling one of their shampoo lines. Another company gave away Corvettes to the sales representatives with the highest sales of their product line. Another manufacturer gave away Rolex watches if one reached a certain level in selling or purchasing their antibiotic. Trips to exotic resorts were also common. Both drug manufactures and diet manufactures offered these programs.

I often wonder when a veterinarian prescribes a particular brand name drug or tries to sell me a specific brand of diet, if they are doing so because they feel that it is the best option for my pet or do they have some other incentive to choose this particular product?

This makes me sick. My three angels, one cockapoo and two miniature poodles, have been on prescription I/D food for years, since the cockapoo got an ailment that really was never officially diagnosed but thought to be perhaps pancreatitis. Spent a week in the hospital on iv fluids and meds. I was told never to feed her anything but the I/d in case the problem would reoccur. Had to feed them all the same thing since they eat each other’s food, thus the reason for them all to eat the prescription food. Costs a mint, but they mean the world to me.

I am ill to think this might not be best for them. Where to turn other than the vet for advice when you have a problem child? I’m afraid to give her anything for fear she may get sick again, though it has been 4-5 years since.

How about the “breed specific” diets now being peddled by Royal Canin? If you have a Persian- they have the “correct”diet for the breed, etc.

Give me a break! What will they think of next? I suppose food for blue-eyed cats- odd-eyed cats? There must be a fortune in store for this type of marketing..

Please don’t steal my idea..

Happy Mew Year to all.. and good food for kitties is simply not that difficult- just avoid all the hype. Thanks for this great article Susan!

For many, many reasons, I have come to view Purina as devoid of ethics. Their sole focus is on market share and revenue. As Mollie said, it makes me ill to see how glossy, slick, and lacking in care of animals they are.

I understand that some pets do need special diets due to disease or defects in their digestive system but I honestly don’t see how a hardened paste of mostly unnatural ingredients would be helpful to a sick pet.It may temporarily maintain the pet but it is certainly not healthy.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for a doctor to send home a recipes for food that a pet owner can make from healthy ingredients to help their sick pet? Our society has gotten so far from the produce department and natural meat section that it never occurs to a pet owner to even consider real food as a possible alternative to mass produced over processed “stuff.” (I can’t identify it as food)

Are the vets so unaware of what a healthy diet is or do they benefit so much from the deception that they don’t care?

100% conflict of interest.

Sadly same thing happens with MD’s – it is just hidden into “trips” to learn more about their drugs which happen to be on exotic islands, etc.

Am now just learning about how bad the Prescription Diet is that my cat must supposedly be on to stay alive. Am thankful to have found a pet store owner who is really educated and for your website as I am starting now to wean him off.

Susan,

In answer to your question: Is it ethical for a veterinary practice to accept “rewards” for increasing their sales of prescription pet foods? I would say it is not.

But this program doesn’t have anything to do with the practice getting rewards for increasing their sales of prescription pet foods.

The practice gets a “reward” for increasing their purchases of product. This is no different from any other sales promotion. For example: “Buy 5 get the 6th free”. Except in the case the “sixth” is a coffee maker or what ever. The clinic may sell the product it bought, give it away, store it,or feed it to pets in their care etc.

From the program “details” it is very clear that it is clinic purchases that qualify them for the item.

It has nothing to do with increasing sales.

“Sales to eligible clinics of the eligible Purina Veterinary Diets® products listed above will be monitored during each of the Quarterly Program Periods (Q3 & Q4). Clinics will receive periodic updates from the Purina Veterinary Diets® sales team via telephone or in-person.”