3. Incentivizing Doctors to Prescribe
The pharmaceutical industry used lucrative incentives to encourage doctors to prescribe opioids, including paid speaking engagements, lavish dinners, and consulting fees. These perks created a powerful financial motive for physicians to favor opioid prescriptions, sometimes over safer alternatives. As highlighted by ProPublica, this widespread practice blurred ethical boundaries and fostered a culture of overprescription—accelerating the spread of opioid addiction across the nation.
