likes, dislikes and suggestions to big pharma sales reps

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JaskC700

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Dear SDN Member,

Good day. I am interviewing with top 8 pharmaceutical company for a pharmaceutical sales position and I was wanting to know what are some your likes and dislikes about pharmaceutical sales representatives? In addition, in order to satisfy you and your patients needs, could you please suggest any improvements you feel need to be implemented in the pharmaceutical sales interaction/experience. Thank you for your time and input.

Sincerely,
TS :laugh:
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yeah, don't come to the pharmacy at meal times, and don't pretend you know more than us about the drugs, thanks

sincerely,

anyone who works in a pharmacy
 
I understand it's a job and you want to do it well. And I respect that.
But pharmaceutical sales representatives serve no purpose in healthcare other than increase profit for the company and increase cost to consumers.

Please do not call to make an appointment or set up inservices to meet your quota at our expense and time.

If I need you, I will call you. The studies you provide...I've already read it and don't believe it. And stay out of my hospitals. You have no vested interest in our patients, our hospitals, nor our physicians. Your interest lies in profit for your company.

Have a nice day.
 
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JaskC700 said:
Dear SDN Member,

Good day. I am interviewing with top 8 pharmaceutical company for a pharmaceutical sales position and I was wanting to know what are some your likes and dislikes about pharmaceutical sales representatives? In addition, in order to satisfy you and your patients needs, could you please suggest any improvements you feel need to be implemented in the pharmaceutical sales interaction/experience. Thank you for your time and input.

Sincerely,
TS :laugh:
Click to expand...
Hi - When you come into a retail pharmacy, just give me the basic information. I don't care about the studies (which were all funded by your company) that say that X Drug is so much better than Y. Just give me the basics and some general written information.

What is very useful to me is letting me know that you have been detailing XYZ doctors in my area. I pretty much know by now which MD's are likely to listen to you and thus start writing for your product (in which case I might need to order it), or conversely if they are doctors who never listen to drug reps (in which case I'll never order it because I won't see Rxs for it).

And, along those same lines, don't come in and beg me to order your new cold medicine combo/topical/etc. so you can tell doctors we have it in stock. In almost every case I've seen, that means we won't really see Rxs for it. If it's something that's going to be that good, I probably get an auto drop ship from my company anyway.

If it's something that's really novel (say the new renin drug Tekturna or that injectable for diabetes - Byetta, I'd be happy to listen to a little bit of discussion about mode of action, why this is unique, etc.

Oh, and my last caution - don't come to my pharmacy on Monday, and if you walk in and I have a line of people at every window, just come back later!
Sincerely,
Pharmacy Intern
 
We only like you for your free food and pens...and even after you have bought our attention, we only pretend to be paying attention to you 99% of the time.

If you are a woman, start wearing mini-skirts, it will get you further when you round the prescriber circuit.

Really though - You know your job is bull****, we know your job is bull****, but, hey, it's fine, the whole system is bull****. Par for the course. Let the bull**** fly! Just be lucky you live in capitalist America where we let people with zero formal scientific training and no real purpose get a decent income to pretend like they are actually educating us about something.
 
Epic said:
I understand it's a job and you want to do it well. And I respect that.
But pharmaceutical sales representatives serve no purpose in healthcare other than increase profit for the company and increase cost to consumers.

Please do not call to make an appointment or set up inservices to meet your quota at our expense and time.

If I need you, I will call you. The studies you provide...I've already read it and don't believe it. And stay out of my hospitals. You have no vested interest in our patients, our hospitals, nor our physicians. Your interest lies in profit for your company.

Have a nice day.
Click to expand...

No chances you are a female residing in the southeastern United States is there??? So beautiful...
 
I'd love to have cute pens.😛 When you come to a hospital, please bring a lot of cute pens. :welcome:
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
He's an old-ass man with a riding lawnmower. Hey, whatever floats your boat.
Click to expand...

Thank you WVU for always being there to crush a young man's dreams, I appreciate it.
 
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Epic said:
Do you want my avatar? The jumping owl? I know you want it.
Click to expand...

I hate that bird.

The course was super busy yesterday. They had a fundraiser for troops overseas, and raised 15K for care packages and stuff. I swear, there were a bajillion people playing!!! I bet if I go look, I'll find tons of balls out in the yard.
 
It is annoying when drug reps try to pump me up for detailed usage stats. I don't care if I am asked if I see a drug prescribed alot. But, if they want to keep tabs on what prescriber writes for what, they need to get it from the horses mouth or pay an insurance company for some mined data.
 
The only time I need you ever is when I need your layman's product literature if I'm doing a healthfair, public event where my department is being represented (oh - often by me, but could be any of the pharmacists)...which we need to give out to the public. All the other material you give me - studies, product info, CDs, etc....they all go in the trash.

So - if you give me your cell #, contact #, email...whatever & say "call me anytime you need something" - you''d better d*mn well call me back & like TODAY! Be sure you have the material in your garage & can get it to me fast - not on the slow train from Philly. Otherwise....second everything epic says!

Epic - did you see - azithromycin no longer sucks for travelers? The CDC has replaced cipro with azithromycin for worldwide traveler's diarrhea. Too much resistance to cipro.:laugh: So - when you go see the Dahli Lama, be sure to take along some azithromycin😉.
 
Dear Pharmaceutical Rep.,

Please bring fillet mignon dinners, laser pointers, and other neat stuff rather than the same 'ol flimsy pharm pens if you really wish to speak to me during peak hours.

Sincerely,
No-See-um :laugh:

Actually, I would prefer if more money were allocated to research or prescription drug benefit programs than treating me to fillet mignon.
 
Here's a great article about drug rep recruitment. I don't mind cheerleaders going into the business, but do mind if people who don't have a science background solicit doctors to prescribe their drug by using charm rather than knowledge.

I also second everything Epic said, there really is no good purpose for this type of job. If we want to keep health care centered around the patient then we'll keep drug reps out of hospitals and pharmacies. That is, unless drug reps start telling docs to prescribe what's best for the patient and stop selling their drug as the best. But then that would defeat the purpose of the job, hence it's worthlessness in regard to patient centered care.

I write this to let you know that if you were to meet any pharmacist/doctor/nurse/pharm student/etc. in another situation I'm sure we'd like you, but it's just the job itself that we don't like. Personally, I suggest another career.
 
Haha, wow, you guys just crushed a person's dreams! I guess it's better to know you're going to be hated than going in oblivious.
 
I hate it when drug reps try to weasel in front of patients who have been waiting. Some are good about hanging back. But others are just inconsiderate.

I bet if drug reps just gave out little cards with basic info (counseling tips, indications, class, usual dose, etc), or a document similar to what goes into Facts and Comparisons, instead of all of that extra crap, they'd be received alot better.
 
This thread reminds me of an article that was published earlier this year in CNN Money:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/02/news/companies/drug_rep/index.htm

An excerpt:
Amid mounting competition and a backlash against Big Pharma's aggressive sales tactics, drug reps are looking more and more like an endangered species.

"The backlash--fueled in part by double-digit increases in advertising spending by Big Pharma--is turning the industry on its head. Sales reps are facing massive layoffs and falling incomes as commissions drop. Drug companies, meanwhile, are scrambling to come up with new ways to get their medications in front of the doctors who would prescribe them. In one sign of the dislocation, Pfizer is in the process of laying off 2,200 sales reps, or about one-fifth of its U.S. sales force. Industry watchers expect rival companies will soon follow with cutbacks of their own."

Maybe, just maybe, drug reps ARE on their way to becoming an endangered species ... what do you think?
 
sdn1977 said:
Epic - did you see - azithromycin no longer sucks for travelers? The CDC has replaced cipro with azithromycin for worldwide traveler's diarrhea. Too much resistance to cipro.:laugh: So - when you go see the Dahli Lama, be sure to take along some azithromycin😉.
Click to expand...


I'm afraid quinolones are losing effectiveness....

And azithromycin still sux in my book. Dahli Lama still alive?
 
PharmaSynergy said:
This thread reminds me of an article that was published earlier this year in CNN Money:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/02/news/companies/drug_rep/index.htm

An excerpt:
Amid mounting competition and a backlash against Big Pharma's aggressive sales tactics, drug reps are looking more and more like an endangered species.

"The backlash--fueled in part by double-digit increases in advertising spending by Big Pharma--is turning the industry on its head. Sales reps are facing massive layoffs and falling incomes as commissions drop. Drug companies, meanwhile, are scrambling to come up with new ways to get their medications in front of the doctors who would prescribe them. In one sign of the dislocation, Pfizer is in the process of laying off 2,200 sales reps, or about one-fifth of its U.S. sales force. Industry watchers expect rival companies will soon follow with cutbacks of their own."

Maybe, just maybe, drug reps ARE on their way to becoming an endangered species ... what do you think?
Click to expand...

Yep - just met a guy who graduated 4 years after me from the same school.

He says its an awful life, he's tired of travel, no one ever listens to him - too bad - a smart guy...
 
Epic said:
I'm afraid quinolones are losing effectiveness....

And azithromycin still sux in my book. Dahli Lama still alive?
Click to expand...

I dunno know. I think he can be alive whenever or wherever he wants to be.......

Nah - you gotta give azithromycin some props - its now on the CDC prime list. How high can you get as a po, questionable coverage & expensive antibiotic?

Now its gotten a complete ok from the big "kahuna" of world-wide antibiotic recommendations.....
 
I can never give props to a bacteristatic antibiotic ....and the strep coverage is horrible...
 
Epic said:
I can never give props to a bacteristatic antibiotic ....and the strep coverage is horrible...
Click to expand...

No props for tigecycline or linezolid? I mean, I spend a lot of time restricting these bad boys, but they may deserve some props for their potential. An "A" for effort?
 
Priapism321 said:
No props for tigecycline or linezolid? I mean, I spend a lot of time restricting these bad boys, but they may deserve some props for their potential. An "A" for effort?
Click to expand...

I'll give them props when it goes generic. No reason why Tygacil needs to be 90 bucks for day and zyvox at 160 bucks per day. What's tygacil good for except for those rare resistant acinetobacter? Zyvox is over priced.
 
Dear Drug Rep,

When you leave today, I am going to be calling Dr. so and so and suggest changing your Exforge to generic Lotrel and your Zyrtec to generic Allegra and your Fortamet to generic XR Metformin.

Why, you may ask? Because I got into this field for the patient and my patient is old and can't afford $50 or $60 per month per drug and will try to cut corners on their therapy to save money.
 
Epic said:
I'll give them props when it goes generic. No reason why Tygacil needs to be 90 bucks for day and zyvox at 160 bucks per day. What's tygacil good for except for those rare resistant acinetobacter? Zyvox is over priced.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Epic said:
I'll give them props when it goes generic. No reason why Tygacil needs to be 90 bucks for day and zyvox at 160 bucks per day. What's tygacil good for except for those rare resistant acinetobacter? Zyvox is over priced.
Click to expand...

I've seen (read) that France uses Zyvox for empiric therapy in several cases...but then again, they've got resistance issues that we don't face yet.
 
Epic said:
I'll give them props when it goes generic. No reason why Tygacil needs to be 90 bucks for day and zyvox at 160 bucks per day. What's tygacil good for except for those rare resistant acinetobacter? Zyvox is over priced.
Click to expand...
Tygacil is good for methicillin resistant abdominal infections and vancomycin resistant skin infections. My drug info paper was about Tygacil, and so, I know more than I care to admit about that drug. It is the newest antibiotic. For some reason I though it was more expensive than $90 per day.
 
genesis09 said:
Tygacil is good for methicillin resistant abdominal infections and vancomycin resistant skin infections. My drug info paper was about Tygacil, and so, I know more than I care to admit about that drug. It is the newest antibiotic. For some reason I though it was more expensive than $90 per day.
Click to expand...
just shut up while you're ahead...

just assume Epic is right when it comes to infectious disease cause he will p3wn your arse...
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
I've seen (read) that France uses Zyvox for empiric therapy in several cases...but then again, they've got resistance issues that we don't face yet.
Click to expand...

The rate of Linezolid resistant VRE is increasing in the US also.
 
genesis09 said:
Tygacil is good for methicillin resistant abdominal infections and vancomycin resistant skin infections. My drug info paper was about Tygacil, and so, I know more than I care to admit about that drug. It is the newest antibiotic. For some reason I though it was more expensive than $90 per day.
Click to expand...

Methicillin resistant abdominal infections? Then perhaps we can use something other than Methcicillin...No? Like Metronidazole.. And what might cause the vanco resistant skin infection? MRSA is not the big bug for skin structure infection.. you know. Tygacil is new? Not really....it's a Tetracycline derivative... but Wyeth would like to call it the "new novel antibiotic." What references did you use for your paper? Were they all sponsored by paid for by Wyeth?

So...what are the culprits for abdominal infections and CSSI? Then perhaps we can decide what's the most appropirate treatment option instead of throwing out a broad spctrum (doesn't mean most potent) abx..
 
Epic said:
Methicillin resistant abdominal infections? Then perhaps we can use something other than Methcicillin...No? Like Metronidazole..
Click to expand...


They gave me both.
 
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