Dear drug reps,
I write you today as a primary care provider who — at the risk of giving you “the keys to the kingdom” — has advice for you.
First, I am not anti-pharma. I recognize the need that my patients and I have for new medications, and I believe that innovation in medicine can grow from free enterprise. But it’s rare that I walk away from an interaction with you when I don’t think that with a little perspective from inside medicine, your work, and the help that my patients and I derive from it, would be much improved.
So here goes:
Forget as much of what your bosses tell you to say and do as you can. When they accompany you on your visits, they inevitably do a worse and more annoying job selling us on your drug than you do. If it would help, I’d be glad to tell your manager that I don’t want him or her to join you. I hate being “tag-teamed.”
If we’ve told you we’re behind or busy, just come back another time. “I only need two minutes” is never true — you’re making me even further behind, and you won’t have my complete attention when I’m slammed anyway — even for 15 seconds.
Be honest to the point of transparency by sharing the drawbacks of your drug along with its merits. It will win you points and engender trust. One-sided information about anything is biased information, and scientifically trained people resist biased information with uncommon enthusiasm.
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