Ven-duh 2

A reader posted this comment under the Disclaimer thread. I decided to reproduce it in a separate post.


i read all the comments about pharma reps and they really are very lopsided from doc's point of views only.

i am a clinical biochemist but decided to work as a pharma rep for 2 years upon graduation. i must say despite all the challenges, rejection, verbal abuses, meeting sales targets, memorising of detailing stories, endless waiting at doc's clinic just so i could see the doc for 5 min, i really enjoyed my job. it broaden my outlook on life, made me more resilience and opened my eyes to see doctors and specialists as human beings just like all of us mortals. a few earned my respect as they are truly committed to the welfare of their patients. but a big number, sad to say, are just as driven for $$ and profits as the businessmen on the streets. how many really update themselves continuously by reading the latest published clinical journals? tho today i am still not in the mainstream healthcare system i still scan medscape and NEJM daily to keep abreast of the latest medical development and findings. we are not just out for the $$ and profits but we also genuinely care for the patients, just like you do.


Thanks for giving us a view from 'the other side'.

I make no apologies for lopsided views - in fact I routinely warn readers about taking all posts and comments on this blog with caution and discrimination.

My only issue is with the last sentence.

I do not question your care and concern for patients. The point I was trying to make was this: sometimes it's not the person, but the job description.

The job, at the end of the day, is about increasing sales.

Regardless of your good intentions, you need to ask yourself:

Have you ever tried to influence doctors to prescribe a product that was more expensive, but no more efficacious?

Have you ever given the doctor information that a rival company's drug has just been shown to be superior to that of your company in the latest head-to-head trial?

Did you ever decide to not give a doctor freebies, because you believed the evidence you presented was reason enough to convince the doctor?

Did you ever give a doctor freebies and literature, knowing that he would not read the literature anyway, but hoping that the freebies would convince him to prescribe your company's product?

How much real difference have you made in improving patient's lives, doing what you do?

We all work in an imperfect system, where the business of poeple's health are tied to profits and bottom-lines. Doctors are not exempted from having to take into account considerations other than medical ones, but at the end of the day, I believe we should all be able to feel that, on the balance, we are still helping people.