How to tell a drug rep to shut up?

[DucatiNP]

How do you politely tell a drug rep to shut up?

What really gets me is when they tell me to check to DNS box! If the patient wants brand name they'll ask the damn PharmD!

Other than that my interactions with drug reps are good, they are knowlegable about their drug, they give me free stuff (expensive lunches, dinners, very nice pt education handouts).

But sometimes when eating I think, 'In the hour I'm sitting here taking about drugs, which feels like work, if I was working I would have made more than enough to pay for the same meal for me and my girlfriend.

Just a ranting NP.

[JDCitizen]

One can also choose not only to say no but to urge others to stop padding their patients' bills by forcing them to pay for your "drug dinner." Because that's just what you're doing when you accept food and anything else from a drug company. Just say no!

Free market economy...

Good idea; except I don't completely buy into it....

I/we ask questions we don't idly sit by... I am hoping I am not the only provider that takes their information and does further research on it?

New equipment for the office: We listen to different sales people and if they want to buy us lunch or give up a pen so be it.

Its may be true if every company involved in medical treatment did not have to advertise their product we could all wait for the next PDR to come out or do a Google search for new medical stuff...

[JDCitizen]

Having worked for a device company as an educator (not a sales rep), I don't understand this attitude. Most of the time, it just makes you look like a jerk when you set out to make someone else look dumb.

The topic of this string is how to tell a drug rep to shut up....

Just per chance they were chewed for other reasons not just to make them look dumb:

1. Over exaggeration of product use
   
2. Over exaggeration of product cost savings
   
3. Telling the doctor he "should"....
   
4. Obvous skewing of data.

There are lives on the line so when something like this is being presented. Obviously skewing the data especially to an MD that is also a PharmD and has been/is actively involved in research well gets them chewed as only a doctor can...

The groups I work with and have worked with probably use greater than 95% generics on our prescriptions. Plus the one practice our formulary is probably greater than 98%. Our patients pay on a sliding pay scale and we are one of the few offices in the area that will help with the patients' paperwork to get them on assistance. I do like the fact that I can go to the sample closet and give a patient needed medications until we can get other avenues opened up. There is a large population that fall in the gray area when it comes to needed assistance. We have some cases that demand brand only and we have some cases where the generic didn't seem to work as well...

[Freedom42]

Free market economy...

Good idea; except I don't completely buy into it....

I/we ask questions we don't idly sit by... I am hoping I am not the only provider that takes their information and does further research on it?

New equipment for the office: We listen to different sales people and if they want to buy us lunch or give up a pen so be it.

Its may be true if every company involved in medical treatment did not have to advertise their product we could all wait for the next PDR to come out or do a Google search for new medical stuff...

What exactly can you learn while eating a "drug dinner," the cost of which is foisted on your patients, that you cannot learn from a presentation that doesn't involve turning you into a billboard? Those sales people aren't "buying" you lunch. They're padding the price of drugs with those expenses, and if you think those "drug dinners," lunches and pens don't add up to much, you're kidding yourself. Your patients pay for them to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year.

[JDCitizen]

What exactly can you learn while eating a "drug dinner," the cost of which is foisted on your patients, that you cannot learn from a presentation that doesn't involve turning you into a billboard? Those sales people aren't "buying" you lunch. They're padding the price of drugs with those expenses, and if you think those "drug dinners," lunches and pens don't add up to much, you're kidding yourself. Your patients pay for them to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year.

Business expense = tax deductible

Just like when we go out of town to that wonderful beachside program where presentations are made and drug representatives are there between programs. Why are they there: because the largest chunk of those opportunities are supported by the drug companies.... CEU opportunities would be a lot fewer and much more expensive if it was not for the drug companies... Yep our patients pay for our CEUs also. One can be a "billboard" over a meal or because of an eductaion credit...

Must be a lot of evil providers out there because every dinner I have ever been to the speaker was a doctor, NP or a PA.....

You don't think that if they couldn't focus on us directly that their advertisements wouldn't increase on/in TV, Radio,etc...

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

There are lives on the line so when something like this is being presented. Obviously skewing the data especially to an MD that is also a PharmD and has been/is actively involved in research well gets them chewed as only a doctor can...

No, there aren't (or shouldn't be) "lives on the line"... whenever you get information about anything, you have to consider the source. Obviously a conscientious provider would do their own research before prescribing based on a sales rep's information.

That has nothing to do with the "chew up and spit out as only a doctor can" attitude. There are ways to disagree with or educate someone without being an arrogant so-and-so.

[ANPFNPGNP]

I've had my fair share of drug reps and they know to never interrupt me or give me their "hard sell."

The main clinic I work at only allows 4 reps per day to come in and leave samples and get signatures...they are NOT allowed to speak to us lest they get permanently banned from the clinic. If they want to talk to us, then they have to schedule a breakfast or lunch. There's no guarantee that any of us will show up.

One day I was working in the urgent care setting and I had just walked out of a room and a drug rep had overheard me explaining the side effects of a competitor's drug. He actually asked me to CHANGE THE SCRIPT TO HIS DRUG - I was absolutely flabbergasted to say the least. I told him that he wasn't allowed to offer me any advice on prescribing anything until he had "MD" after his name. I told the owner about that episode and drug reps are no longer allowed near patient rooms. If we don't have time to talk to them, which usually we don't, the receptionist tells them that they can get a signature only.

Also, I agree with a previous poster, there IS NO FREE LUNCH!

[ANPFNPGNP]

No, there aren't (or shouldn't be) "lives on the line"... whenever you get information about anything, you have to consider the source. Obviously a conscientious provider would do their own research before prescribing based on a sales rep's information.

That has nothing to do with the "chew up and spit out as only a doctor can" attitude. There are ways to disagree with or educate someone without being an arrogant so-and-so.

You are 100% right, never trust those drug reps and do your own research! Years ago, one of my bosses got sued because a patient ended up in liver failure after being prescribed a certain drug that has been taken off the market. He sued the drug company for withholding this information from him. He told me that every one of the companies reps lied under oath and stated that they had spent "at least 50% of their time" informing him of the risk of liver failure. He had thought about suing each of the reps individually, but it was their word against his. Now, how many times has a drug rep spent 50% of their time telling you about the adverse effects of their drugs? NEVER! Needless to say, no reps from that particular company are allowed in our office!

[JDCitizen]

No, there aren't (or shouldn't be) "lives on the line"... whenever you get information about anything, you have to consider the source. Obviously a conscientious provider would do their own research before prescribing based on a sales rep's information.

That has nothing to do with the "chew up and spit out as only a doctor can" attitude. There are ways to disagree with or educate someone without being an arrogant so-and-so.

I agree:

The conscientious provider should do their own research. Although the trouble with this is that most initial data, studies are done by the drug companies.

I agree

That there are ways to disagree with or educate someone without being an arrogant so-and-so. Although sometimes there is not and sometimes any correction is perceived as arrogance.

I have some disagreement or at least a different point of view...

Lives are on the line especially when data on medication or medical equipment is misrepresented, skewed or whatever just to sale a product (by the salesperson, company or researcher). The person(s) and/or companies need to be confronted. If a representative comes into the office to sale by misleading well the risk of getting chewed/corrected is theirs. The insult is in the eyes of the receiver of such gross information not the deliverer.

There are ways to sale and/or advertise any product without misrepresentation.

[Jo Dirt]

Sounds like they are considered parasites by just about everyone.

I see them literally running into each other coming and going at the doctor's office. There is always one hovering around the front desk.

They are inconsiderate of the patients who are there waiting.

I can't stand them.

[clhRN2b2010]

I used to work as rep for major Pharma co. Recently, one of my friends told me that as of Jan 1 '09, our co. would no longer be giving away ANY premium items. No more pens, stickies, nothing.

They have cut back substantially from they days when I was working 10 years ago. We were doing car washes, free dinner take outs, weekend "educational" boat trips and golf outings. Crazy stuff!

I look back on it now and think how wrong it was. No wonder I felt like I was selling my soul!

[clhRN2b2010]

Oh by the way, just tell them to shut up. I always respected the providers that didn't waste my time either. You don't want my stuff, info, or samples? Great! I won't bother you anymore. There were always plenty of people who wanted what I had.

Deep down, I really respected the providers who saw through our bull****.

[JDCitizen]

I used to work as rep for major Pharma co. Recently, one of my friends told me that as of Jan 1 '09, our co. would no longer be giving away ANY premium items. No more pens, stickies, nothing.

They have cut back substantially from they days when I was working 10 years ago. We were doing car washes, free dinner take outs, weekend "educational" boat trips and golf outings. Crazy stuff!

I look back on it now and think how wrong it was. No wonder I felt like I was selling my soul!

We thought it was bad when the advertisements where directed towards us in our offices. Now they will probably open up full force with more and more direct marketing towards the general population.... $25 off to try our drug, two-for-one, One hour info-commercials ....

We are college educated and a large chuck of the population is not. Some people believe most if not all of what they see on TV. So when we are in the office our jobs are going to be that much harder because we can't compete with the time that most Americans spend with television, radio or magazines.

So what is going to happen....