HRT and the Legal Train Wreck, Redux
26th February 2008
Shortly after I began this blog, I posted on the attribution and dissonance implications from physicians regarding Hormone Replacement Therapy. You might recall the shocking news that HRT, prescribed to reduce symptoms for menopausal women, was associated with increases in health problems, including breast cancer. I predicted – not too cleverly – an impending legal train wreck as women or their surviving loved ones sued. The train wreck is in motion.
Today we read reports of a major jury decision in favor of a woman again Wyeth. The jury awarded the plaintiff $2.75 million and will decide on punitive awards later. There are over 5,000 pending cases against Wyeth.
Okay, I got the legal train wreck prediction correct. (Big deal. Imagine predicting that people will sue after they’ve been harmed!?!) What surprises me here is how physicians have managed to elude legal and financial responsiblity here. They prescribed HRT like it was Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum and if they had done their due diligence, the HRT epidemic would have been seriously reduced. Typically you read counterclaims from physician groups that they were pressured by Big Pharma to do this (which ties back to the persuasion angle here with attribution and dissonance).
I still believe that making the Pharmas the bad guys here is a dangerous strategy for the health and medical community. Physicians in particular need to be perceived with high levels of trust and credibility to function effectively. In this case, physicians are avoiding blame on HRT by claiming that the Pharmas unduly pressured them into bad prescription. That looks untrustworthy and uncredible.
As these 5,000 plus cases work through the legal system, look for physician involvement and response. I think that the AMA should stand up and offer a collective mea culpa. It’s a tough hit in the short term, but would strengthen those perceptions of trust and competence. Everyone makes mistakes. Professionals admit that to their advantage.