Senators demand answers on telehealth platforms from Pfizer and Eli Lilly

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Senator Dick Durbin looks forward over his glasses. -- health tech coverage from STAT — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has advocated for price transparency in direct-to-consumer drug advertising, is now looking at drugmakers and telehealth prescribing.Tom Brenner/Pool via AP

By Katie Palmer

Oct. 22, 2024

Health Tech Correspondent

Senators led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Monday demanded answers from Pfizer and Eli Lilly about their relationship with the telehealth prescribers they point patients to from their websites, seeking to determine whether the pharma giants are violating the federal anti-kickback statute.

This year, both Pfizer and Eli Lilly launched websites that allow users to learn about their medications, follow links to “talk to a doctor now,” and fill their prescriptions through an online pharmacy. The sites follow a growing trend of pharma companies directing patients to select telehealth platforms, offering instant access to clinicians who can prescribe their drugs.

“This manufacturer-sponsored arrangement appears intended to steer patients toward particular medications and creates the potential for inappropriate prescribing that can increase spending for federal health care programs,” read the letters, which were co-signed by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

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Katie Palmer
Health Tech Correspondent
Katie Palmer covers telehealth, clinical artificial intelligence, and the health data economy — with an emphasis on the impacts of digital health care for patients, providers, and businesses.