That article didn't say all pharm reps were
cheerleaders. It says that drug companies actively recruit cheerleaders
to be pharm reps - regardless of their actual degree - because of the
personality traits they bring to the job.
I believe a very related
matter is how much money is spent on prescription drug advertising. I
believe it should be illegal in this country to advertise prescription
drugs. We all pay for those ads when we buy the medicine. The
decision on what drug to use should be a medical decision and not based on how
convincing the ads are. Doctors must be overwhelmed with patients
pressuring them to prescribe the drug their patient is enamored with due to
ads even though they recommend a different one. If pharm reps do their
job like those ads -- trying to push a certain drug rather than just selling
what the doctors want -- I consider it no more than highlighting the
cheerleader as pect of the job and downplaying the professional health care
aspects. What drug I take is NOT the same as what car I buy or what
computer I buy. It is very different and should not be treated the same
because it is bad for my health and bad for the country's economy. It is
one of the reasons for our sky rocketing health care costs in this
country. It needs to stop and I believe one necessary place is to outlaw
prescription drug advertising.
Craig Brooks
"C. E. Woodford"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[Winona
Online Democracy]
I find the NY Times piece interesting( although I don't
have time to read the full article which I believe may say a bit more than
the few paragraphs lifted here). I have a neighbor and another friend whom
both happen to be Pharm reps for different companie s. I have to disagree
with the characterization of pharm reps as "cheerleaders" and such. I
believe that to be a VERY broad generalization of the profession. My
neighbor, for example, deals with orthapedic surgeons, he actually sits in
on surgery procedures from time to time to assist/watch/whatever(I don't
have a med background nor am I going to pretend to). He is HIGHLY schooled
and most certainly would take offense to this broad sweeping
characterization( I must keep in mind here that I am dealing with the NY
times, one of the most leftist newspapers in the nation...Good offbeat
articles if you stay away from the political hacks who run it however) of
the Pharm rep industry. My other friend who is a re p for Merck(sp?) isn't
overly attractive (no offense if you are reading this Julie) and works her
butt off traveling on the road. Does she glad hand people and buy
lunches/dinners? Sure, no more than a sales rep from TRW does to a buyer for
GM or Chrysler. I certai nly believe that health care should be overhauled,
do we however have the right to tell drug companies what they should profit?
Don't they rely on profits from the western world to fund the development of
future drugs?( yes they do) Don't they also use that profit so that they may
also sell it to third world countries at a deeply discounted price?(again,
yes) and do they have PACs in Washington? of course, every major industry
that does business in this country has people spending ungodly amounts of
cash on pols in Washington, That, unfortunately, is how things get done
there whether we like it or not. I think we should take a good look at
the pharm industry from a different angle before we chastise them for making
pr ofits here in the USA, this is after all a free-market economy is it not?
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