Poor docs, starting tomorrow they will no longer be showered in free, logo-bescribbled office tools and medical devices. According to
a story in the
New York Times
, the pharmaceutical industry has gallantly decided to stop said showering:
Starting Jan. 1, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on the kind of branded goodies — Viagra pens, Zoloft soap dispensers, Lipitor mugs — that were meant to foster good will and, some would say, encourage doctors to prescribe more of the drugs.
You may recall
our story
on this a while back, which focused more on the free food that drug companies lavish on doctors and their staff, and a bit on free drug samples.
The
NYT
story notes that while the drug industry’s new guidelines yank the pens and mugs and such, they “still permit drug makers to underwrite free lunches for doctors and their staffs or to sponsor dinners for doctors at restaurants, as long as the meals are accompanied by educational presentations.”
Whew, that’s a relief. It’s hungry out there.
This article appears in Saving Sam.
On a slightly different note, do you remember back when companies couldn’t compare their product with their competition’s? At least not using the real name. They could show their own laundry detergent, for instance, but they had to compare it to “Brand X”.
Yes, I do remember, Fred.
Sadly this will be a bummer for the small clinics who serve the poor. Free pens clipboard, sticky notes,table paper. It sounds silly but on a tight budget those things and up.
my buddy gets by on free drug samples. Without them he would go untreated.