Comments on: Drug Rep Tricks

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:48:02 +0000

In the statin market do you see a difference in anyone of them? As a drug representative when a doctor tells me he would quickly prescribe a generic over a non-generic when clearly it may take a higer dose of the generic, I ask why. I understand cost is a factor but what have the studies shown the medical community over time? More medicine is not better, lower LDL is better for those who are at risk and higher HDL. What point do you stop? When a 49 year old with a family history has a heart attack do you say it was bound to happen and Mevecor should have done the trick. Why not just tell patients to take a red yeast rice, oatmeal, start exercising twice and day, no more fatty foods, water only, and by the why mega doses of supplements? Talk to your drug reps and you will find they very much want to understand your position and be a resource. Come down from on high and teach us what is important to you.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 19:52:12 +0000

I’ve noticed that non-zero bar graph trick too. A similar one is to use miniscule units so that any difference at all looks dramatic.

By: Matthew Clark

Matthew Clark — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 07:20:25 +0000

Another very simple tactic which I see in my line of work is flashing a bar graph that at first appears to show a significant advantage of one product over another. This is until you realise that the grpah does not begin at zero and really only represents a marginal advantage.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 03:11:38 +0000

A good question David. My answer would be too long for the comment section, so I’ll post an extended answer sometime tomorrow.

By: Ken Lowery

Ken Lowery — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 19:41:21 +0000

My sister’s a pretty big sales rep for Johnson & Johnson. Should I bust her ass about it?

By: David

David — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:57:21 +0000

I’m always amazed by the marketing techniques of the pharmaceutical industry, so thanks very much for sharing this. I wonder, do you encounter patients who either diagnose themselves or essentially attempt to self-medicate based on commercials they’ve seen for specific drugs? I worry about that every time I see a prescription medication advertised on TV. (I’m in marketing for higher education, actually, and it always creeps me out when I see what I perceive to be misleading or unethical sales and promotional practices.)