Pharmaceutical companies and The Medical Letter

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Shodddy18

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I saw a presentation today by Gene Carbona (director of sales for The Medical Letter). Has anyone else heard him speak? His presentation was very eye opening. He was a drug rep for a major pharmaceutical company for 13 years, and most of his presentation involved him pointing out all of the shady underhanded things drug-reps will do to get physicians to prescribe their drugs. Part of his job allows him to travel to medical schools talking about his experiences as a drug-rep, and how The Medical Letter can help prevent some of the harm these people cause. If any of you have the opportunity to invite him to your school, I would recommend you do so.

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In my opinion Mr. Carbona's not much better than the drug reps.

link
 
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Ok, didnt see the link until after my last reply...

I have to disagree with you. The medical letter is a commercial enterprise, but it is non profit. It has been around for almost 50 years, and is often viewed as the most credible source of information on the usefulness of drugs. It is written by physicians for physicians because its purpose is to provide unbiased information based on real world results, not "doctored" studies like those often used by pharmaceutical companies. I dont think you can assume these things just because he is the one in charge of marketing the medical letter. They market the Letter with good intentions (getting it out to the medical community), not to make a profit.
 
Seaglass said:
In my opinion Mr. Carbona's not much better than the drug reps.

link
Seaglass-
I think your letter may have hit home. Carbona went to fairly extraordinary lengths to not participate in a conflict of interest.
For example, this was actually the second go at this talk. The first was postponed due to travel issues. While not a chapter officer, I learned from the president that the school could have assisted him with travel, but his position with the Medical Letter made assistance of this type unethical.
His affiliation with the publication was part of the advert. for the talk.
I think your point about the Medical Letter being in direct competition with pharmaceutical companies may be misguided. The pharm. empires are selling drugs. The Medical Letter is selling a prescribing tool. For its usefulness and frank honesty, I'd say it's selling pretty cheap.
I wish you could have been on campus here to compare the show we got vs. the one you witnessed. But then, you're already out there in the real world in a spot I'm still dreaming about. :D
 
I've got nothing against the medical letter per se, just how Mr. Carbona sells it.

BTW, did you get a free lunch at your lecture?
 
We did get a free lunch... provided by our schools chapter of AMSA.
 
Hmm, free lunch and somebody trying to sell something. Sounds strangely familiar . . .
 
Yeah, but who picked up the tab?

I'm pretty sure this was AMSA's dime.
 
To play the devil's advocate a little, how is drug advertising different from other kinds of advertising? In exchange for a 5 minute presentation a physician can get a stash of expensive antibiotic samples that he can then give to his poor patients (who are unable to afford drugs because no one supports healthcare reforms). How is this bad? So the money will go to GSK and not to Lily. Why does it matter? If a drug doesn't work, the patient will be back in a week asking for a different drug.
 
Shodddy18 said:
I saw a presentation today by Gene Carbona (director of sales for The Medical Letter). Has anyone else heard him speak? His presentation was very eye opening. He was a drug rep for a major pharmaceutical company for 13 years, and most of his presentation involved him pointing out all of the shady underhanded things drug-reps will do to get physicians to prescribe their drugs. Part of his job allows him to travel to medical schools talking about his experiences as a drug-rep, and how The Medical Letter can help prevent some of the harm these people cause. If any of you have the opportunity to invite him to your school, I would recommend you do so.

The relationship between drug reps and doctors pales in comparison with politicians and lobbyists. We may get a few free dinners (without spouses), some samples of the drugs, and a few little trinkets, but......
Politians on the otherhand....get anything and everything they want paid for by lobbyists. I love Ed Kennedy for this reason. He has been so hellbent on ending even the free samples that patients get, yet he has no problem taking his entire staff on vacation paid for by lobbyists.....does anyone see a problem here?
stomper
 
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