"Dr. Drug Rep I. Faculty Development On a blustery fall New England day in 2001, a friendly representative from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals came into my office in Newburyport, Mass., and made me an offer I found hard to refuse. He asked me if I’d like to give talks to other doctors about using Effexor XR for treating depression. He told me that I would go around to doctors’ offices during lunchtime and talk about some of the features of Effexor. It would be pretty easy. Wyeth would provide a set of slides and even pay for me to attend a speaker’s training session, and he quickly floated some numbers. I would be paid $500 for one-hour “Lunch and Learn” talks at local doctors’ offices, or $750 if I had to drive an hour. I would be flown to New York for a “faculty-development program,” where I would be pampered in a Midtown hotel for two nights and would be paid an additional “honorarium.” " Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Read full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/magazine/25memoir-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Excellent article. I'm quite acquainted if Effexor myself, so I can relate to what the article describe... Also, we already knew about the unethical practices of the pharmaceutical companies.
I think people make a much bigger deal about this than it is. I get taken out to diner, given various freebies, etc all the time from drug companies. But if the drugs no good, I don't care how nice the dinner was, I'm not going to use it. But often the difference between two drugs is the same as the difference between Pepsi and Coke. In such a case, I might be influenced by a nice dinner. Not to mention that these presentations help keep busy doctors up to date on the latest drug research. Of course you keep in mind that the presentation from Company X will highlite the data that makes their product look the best. But then Company Y will come along and explain why their drug is best. Then you try them out and decide for yourself which is the most effective. No doctor is going to prescribe a bad drug because a rep gave him a pen or took him out to dinner. Even if he doesn't care about his patients (which most doctors do), fear of lawsuits will prevent that.
So you are saying most doctors are not influeced by free trips to conferences, free hotel, free dinners, getting paied a few hundred dollars to attend and free fun while visiting? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Sounds like those ridiculous pharmaceutical companies are wasting a lot of money! I wonder how they manage to have so much, then! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Influenced, yes. But not unduly. These freebies encourage you to try their drug out, but if the drug doesn't perform, screw it. I've been to meetings where a certain company is handing out something really cool. Everyone is sure to stop by their booth to pick one up. While there, they'll hear the sales pitch. But when they're back in the office, they prescibe what they think is best.
And that's true of Pepsi and Coke themselves - which is why a 13 cent package of ingredients costs $1.30 retail. Whichever one tries skimping on the marketing, loses the market. With colas, of course, no one suffers too much either coming up with that extra 90% of the price, or deciding not to buy today. The drug companies in the US spend more on marketing than they do on research and development.
