"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message

stuff snipped

I haven't noticed such signs in the new medical facility that houses a
score or more of doctors, but in our doctor's former facility a sign
announced that representatives would be seen only between certain hours
on one particular day -- I don't recall now whether it was a particular
day every week or less frequently than that.

I once got a fistful of valuable discount coupons (about $80 worth) by
making a scene about a "detail man" (it was actually a woman) rolling into
the doctor's office ahead of me with her rolling suitcase after I had been
waiting quite some time. She explained that she was only dropping off some
samples but that Federal law required her to get the MD to sign for them at
the time of delivery.

The doctor (who I knew quite well) didn't mention my dustup other than to
say he depends on the pharamacy rep to leave samples that he can give to
patients that otherwise couldn't afford their drugs. Whether that's all
true or not I don't know, but it sounded like a reasonable explanation. I
took the payola gladly, I confess! The MD also gave me two neat pens (with
an Alzheimer's drug name on them) that had laser pointers built-in, so I got
a double payoff for squawking. Now I have to find a half-sized Cross refill
or buy a full sized one and cut it down - could be messy!

BTW, in addition to doctors being bombarded by mail and in-person
marketing by the drug industry, they are also bombarded by patients
wanting them to prescribe the latest thing they've seen advertised on
TV. I have read that the USA and New Zealand are the only countries that
permit TV advertising of prescription-only medications.

And IIRC, they bundle those advertising costs into R&D when they complain
about how much it costs to bring new drugs to market. It would cost a lot
less without all those glossy magazine ads and TV commercials.

My MD has mixed feelings about the ads. He believes that sometimes
advertising alerts people to conditions they might not realize they have but
more often pushes meds to people that don't really need them (he cites Low-T
ads as being the worst of that class of ads).

--
Bobby G.