Cleaning house
How many large trash bags do you think it would take to clean out all of the drug- company-logo'd paraphernalia from your doctor's office?
According to a recent story I read, it took about 20 shopping carts before one health management company was able to clear their space of all their gifted loot. They've decided to ship their goody collection to Cameroon—where the drugs aren't available.
Drug reps are sent out in legions to casually drop in on harried docs throughout the day, wheeling their cabinets of curiosities behind them. They're also shouldering bags containing the "gifts" that they sprinkle liberally around doctor's offices like so much pixie dust.
The dramatic demonstration of this company hopefully helps ring in a new era, as more and more doctor's offices are starting to ban this gifting practice.
Whether it's meals or tickets to games or a bunch of drug-logo tschotckes, many doctor's feel obligated—contrary to the protestations of the drug companies that insist there are no strings attached.
Human nature generally doesn't work that way. You give me something, I feel I'm in your debt, and I think most of us have been brought up that way. In my own practice, I had made the decision some time ago to no longer have direct dealings with drug companies. And truth be told, drug reps weren't very interested in me because they knew I wasn't a "high producer." I wasn't offered any gifts—which just goes to show that they shower them on the doctors that they know will bring them a return on that investment. It's most certainly not the altruistic giving that the drug companies try to paint it as.
And with the light being shone on this gifting practice, many would argue that it's a conflict of interest, since your doctor is there to serve you and not the region's drug representatives. There are many other industries that already have a policy in place forbidding their employees from accepting anything that could be construed as a gift to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America was quoted as saying that there are a lot of cynics here in our country "who want to think the worst."
Yes, that's it. We're all just a bunch of cynics, and you're the good guys just trying to make nice for all of us and make sure our doctors have all the reminders they need to give us handfuls of prescriptions.
Aren't we an ungrateful bunch?
