Wow, it is very interesting to see the different policies all of you have adopted. I think the office as a whole is just fed up with all reps. This afternoon, after I started this thread, we had a drug rep literally stand at our reception counter/window waiting for several minutes, not allowing patients and even the mailman to engage the receptionist and it just infuriated everyone. And to be honest, we never even liked listening to their spiels during provided lunches - nobody on the staff would enjoy their lunch as they felt like they were being bought - this is a large reason why we stopped all lunches 4 years ago. I even remember back in the early 2000s when a rep offered $50 gift cards for every new RX we wrote for a branded statin (of course we refused)!
We may have to enact a temporary hiatus/ban until we decide on a final policy. I had known drug reps had access to our prescribing data, but never knew we could opt-out; we will be signing up for that AMA program and it'll be interesting to see if we get any negative feedback. We never realized that they just needed the sample request signature. It's funny because we receive sample request forms for a certain purple PPI via fax, mail, and local rep. The local representative is the only one that requires direct contact with a physician. I guess we'll add this manipulation tactic to their list of tricks.
Another part of the issue here is that several of the drug reps are from the area and established in the community (one is even a congressman's wife) and a few attend the same church as some of the staff. We fear some derogatory comments will be made about our office to local pharmacies, physicians, and community members.
What James said about the use of sex appeal is very true in my experience. The sad part is that it may work - my staff and I have heard too many stories from the mouths of reps about physicians wanting more to the relationship. I even heard one about a rep being invited to the home of a physician to find him in a bathrobe! Who knows though how much is true, how much is embellishment, and how much is a result of physicians refusing to see those reps.
Please everyone, don't let this be the end of your input, we would like to hear from all different viewpoints.
