Food For Thought

Not too long ago, I went a few rounds with one of the anons on ProCare's blog about the pros and cons of drug-rep sponsored lunches. There are some who say the practice is unethical - and a lot of that is coming from medical students who have no clue as to the much more ominous ethical perils they will face in the real world.

Fact is, I rarely see/get one. Pediatrics is not a specialty that pushes the high-dollar stuff. And unless you're in a large, multi-physician, high-volume practice (which generally has no need of Locum Tenens coverage), the day of the drug-rep lunch is long gone. It has been my observation that Pediatric sample closets in smaller or rural practices are generally much barer than they used to be.

But yesterday was an exception. I prescribe quite a lot of Xopenex to treat my outpatient wheezers. The clinic where I am working now is rural and we see more than our fair share of "under-served" & self-paying patients. A few days ago, faced with a nearly barren sample closet at the height of allergy season, I asked my nurse to place some calls to drug companies and request samples.

The Xopenex guy showed up quickly - in fact, he made a special trip down to meet me and stock us up. As lunchtime approached, we were stuck in the office dealing with the remnants of a minor medical emergency and the office staff had called out for pizza. The rep offered to pick up the lunch for us . . . and the tab. He threw some appetizers in and we had a veritable pizza feast in the break room. He detailed me on his products - in the process telling me things that I did not know about developments on the horizon. And we enjoyed some sharp old-fashioned gossip (as I have been everywhere and seen everything . . . and so has he). For me, it was high entertainment in the middle of nowhere. He was jovial and gracious and an all-around good egg. He left us a healthy supply of samples for the closet, and by the end of the day I had cause to give some of of it out . . . to an uninsured immigrant's child (a child born in Mexico who did not qualify for Medicaid).

I very much enjoyed the lunch and the conversation. And in terms of "ethics", I slept very well last night.

This rep is clearly the last of a dying breed. I will be sad to see his kind go.