A doc goes cold turkey from drug reps
“We doctors see these folks, let them stroke our egos and accept their largesse. Some of us do this reluctantly, with unspoken reservations; a few do it eagerly and even try to shake down the reps for more and bigger freebies.
Many of us just play the game without thinking. Drug reps have been part of the medical scene since the early years of the 20th century, and most of us have never considered what medicine would be like without them.”
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{ 3 comments }
Our office has pretty much banned reps. If you want to get samples, you have to make your own arrangements. I’ve found that my prescribing habits have changed a bit without their influence.
Galen
I’m a neurosurgeon; I never see drug reps, and the only equipment reps I see are ones who are invited to come in and show me a product I’ve already developed an interest in. I don’t get any free lunches for my staff, and I don’t get my name in the paper for being the first in town to do the latest medical breakthrough. Yet, somehow, my patients seem to do OK and I still make a living!
When I was in active internal medicine practice, I refused to see drug reps. I also never prescribed a new drug until it was at least one year in use and then with caution.
By the way I have been doing a series of posts currently on gifts to physicians from pharmaceutical companies and its significance. ..Maurice.
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