A patient is upset that drug reps prance in to see the physician, while he (or she) is stuck waiting:
The situation is, patients are waiting in the doctor’s waiting room, the doctor is running 30 to 45 minutes late, and the room is crowded.In prance pharmaceutical reps, one after another. They are permitted to enter the inner office to see the doctor without waiting. Some are carrying boxes of lunches and other goodies. All are carrying samples of their company’s drugs.
Most of the waiting patients are becoming enraged that these people are delaying their appointments even more, and blood pressures are rising.
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- Are drug reps tainting physician food?
- A bad day for New Hampshire drug reps
- Spies in the waiting room
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{ 10 comments }
I’ve worked in food and chemical plants where the security guards at the gates had daily appointments lists and visitors didn’t even get to the lobbies if they weren’t on the lists.
When drug reps waltz into my ER wanting to talk to me I return the rudeness and run them out. I don’t have a ******* minute to listen to them, and wouldn’t want to even if I did.
You don’t hear them complaining when they receive a few weeks worth of sample medications for free that the drug rep left them.
My wife’s doc put her on a brand name blood pressure med that has no generic. Costs us an extra $360 a year in copays. Yeah, thanks so much for the “free” samples.
I think it is rude for doctors to see drug reps when patients are wainting–and bad business as well.
I always made them make appointments. I remember one who would keep dropping in anyway hoping to catch me. Once he caught one of my more assertive patients, and she gave him an earful and put him right out of there. I was proud of her!
My patient’s never have complained about this matter, and at least 50% of them ask for a sample. The only complaint is when there are no samples. There are not generics for most of the medications I use.
Anon 11:18-
I’m curious- what specialty are you in that there are not generics for most of the medications that you use? Unless you’re an oncologist, I have a hard time believing that you don’t have generic alternatives.
I’d go to the counter and loudly ask for a $40 appointment delay discount.
Yeah, I would have to tell the patients that the tradeoff will be fewer if any free samples at the visit, and a gentle decline to provide samples on request. Getting free meds is a benefit to the patient, not so much to the doctor. It certainly is no entitlement. So to the patients who are enraged, i can only suggest they be careful what they ask for.
“I’d go to the counter and loudly ask for a $40 appointment delay discount.”
Well beajerry, this would really be difficult as your visit might be reimbursing less than $40, so we might just have to let you go. And don’t think that we can give a discount to Medicare or privately insured patients. This is viewed as an illegal solicitation of services. Now if you want to see if you can get $40 from the drug rep, you go right on ahead, because I didn’t invite her to be there. Just don’t disturb the peace or I’ll have to call security and have you escorted out to the curb.
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