Let's get off the ladies. I don't know what drug reps you people are seeing, but mine are men with nice suits (I bet it drives up the cost) and well-dressed women in suits.
I am sure I am naive, but again, they have a right to advertise their product. You have a right to not talk to them. There must be a reason for them to advertise. It is to sell product. Just like an Audi dealer must charge more from advertising. But, in the end, they make more money.
The drug companies are not into it to help patients. They are into it to make money. And, as a by product, medications are produced that you (everyone) can prescribe. Are they supposed to just sit there and not advertise their product so that Prevacid outsells their Nexium? That's not good business. This is capitalism.
Everyone has a role. Insurance companies screw everyone over, doctors treat patients WITH DRUGS and other modalities, the drugs come from the drug companies who people perceive as evil. The same ones who somehow produced the H1N1 vaccines on two days notice. The drug companies advertise with drug reps. It is certainly much better than television ads. I now use Intuniv quite often due to information exchange and samples. I wouldn't be giving out Intuniv from my television.
Bottom line: Drug companies make drugs. They get rich. More power to them. It's America. Pfizer would go out of business if they decreased their drug costs by 20% just to be helpful to the patient. They advertise how they please. You/We decide whether to use the drug or not. I suppose we could argue all day whether their business practices are ethical, but how they advertise is something you can control. Don't see them. But, I will see them. Because they are helpful and they supply samples. Just my take on it.
What happened to the government's proposal to get rid of drug reps and instead supply their own people to educate and be unbiased. The first day they come in, they will have to head right to DD before I listen to them.
