tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post935399053267045953..comments2023-11-03T06:32:28.410-04:00Comments on Staring At Empty Pages: Hey, man, wanna try some drugs?Barry Leibahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14205294935881991457noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-72050712969559504382007-05-07T14:09:00.000-04:002007-05-07T14:09:00.000-04:00I think doctors need to find a new way to get educ...I think doctors need to find a new way to get educated. If pharmaceutical companies want to give free samples, they should, but the doctors shouldn't be getting "educated" by them because it's not unbiased or necessarily accurate information. Even if the doctor is aware of that, how's s/he supposed to know what information is accurate and what isn't?<BR/><BR/>I know doctors are busy people, but I also know what pharmaceutical reps do to schmooze them. There is the prinicpal of reciprocation at work. Pharm. reps take doctors out to very expensive dinners. Even if a doctor is aware of the reciprocation effect, it still could bias him/her toward the product. That's natural. And naturally, if it didn't work, pharmaceutical reps wouldn't operate that way.<BR/><BR/>My dad is a writer, and he had a very strong ethic. He never accepted anything free that he was writing about, because he knew it could bias his opinion of the product. We have some cost/value analysis mechanisms built in. There are even other primates and other species with this ability.<BR/><BR/>Human behavior changes when a gift is involved.<BR/><BR/>And why wouldn't a doctor try something that's free? Especially if it's not a life-threatening situation. I don't believe doctors really care if you suffer for a few extra days, if they can make you go away with a sample in your hand. It also gives them a feeling for whether the product actually works. There's no cost to the doctor, and some benefit.<BR/><BR/>OTOH, if doctors paid for the samples, then you can bet you'd be getting the cheapest appropriate sample. Their values aren't aligned with yours if they have an expensive, free product that they can hand you, rather than writing you a prescription for a generic.<BR/><BR/>Just an anecdote, but my allergist once held a zpac in front of my face and explained to me that the medicine stays in your body after you've taken it for seven days -- he could've been on TV. It was almost word-for-word what was printed on the packaging. It was insulting and I couldn't help laughing at his ridiculous, brain-washed behavior. I have no idea if the medicine was appropriate for my sinus infection -- I needed a second antibiotic after the zpac was done because it had no effect. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being prescribed medicine by a pharmaceutical company.Maggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16681883169121834569noreply@blogger.com