>In a senior community such as mine, many topics of conversation (sigh) are health related.
>A pet peeve among the residents is having to wait in the office of an MD while the MD talks to a Pharma rep.
>How many times does an MD have to hear about the wonders of Viagra??????????????
>If it looks like a rubber duck.. well.. you know what I mean.

I'm not a big fan of big pharma (though I think some of the meds available to us today are nothing short of miracles), but doctors are incredibly busy and pretty much anytime I'm in a doctor's actual office (that is, the desk, not the exam room), there's a large stack of unread journals on the desk. I think an honest drug rep (and yes, they aren't all honest) who comes in and teaches a doc what her company's drugs do and where they're indicated can take some burden off.

When I was first working with my neurologist on my migraines, he said clearly that different triptans work better for different people and sent me home with a pile of samples with instructions on how to try them. When I figured out my best bet, I was to call and he'd prescribe. Today, because of the new rules, he can't do that; he doesn't have the samples to do it with. Who's served well by that?

Also, full disclosure: my SIL has worked on the marketing side of pharma for her adult life, including a couple of years as a drug rep.

Tamar