Drug Company Reps Visiting Va Doctors

[hedgey]

First of all, this is not in a VA run facility. This is a contract VA clinic run by a Contract Healthcare Corporation, out here in the boonies.

I have seen with my own eyes the glamor-puss drug reps coming in & out of the clinic, with their little wheelie suitcases in tow.

I'd seen this before, at my old private doctor's office, many times over the years. His nurse told me that Ol' Doc Smith made a good living off the perks - trips, gifts, coupons that were essentially cashed in for ... cash. She told me that the Reps came in, gave him a truck load of goodies and in turn, he wrote scripts for their drugs. Mind you, he would only write the scripts if he thought the drugs would be effective, but the more he wrote for, say, effexor, the more goodies he got from Merck (might be a different pharma, but you get the picture).

(I once ran into the local AARP head who had a petition for over-50's to sign for our congressman to force Pharmaceuticals to release information on perks given to doctors in exchange for scripts written. It never happened, or not to my knowledge.)

I've never seen a drug rep at the VAMC, and I never saw one when our clinic was run by the VA directly. But I've been seeing them lately. I asked another vet and was he said that since Valor was a contractor, drug reps could certainly come in and peddle their drugs to the doctors.

So I asked my VA therapist about this. He groaned and shook his head and said he couldn't understand why the VA would allow it. But it might explain why my DH's Contract Healthcare psychiatrist insisted on giving him two newer medications (that both made him sick and/or loopy) and refused to let DH try the older meds that his therapist told him he was likely to get. Flat out refused to change his meds to anything else, mine or any others. Told DH if he wouldn't take the meds he prescribed and felt he was in crisis, go to the emergency room. What is up with that? I never heard of a psychiatrist or any doctor who wouldn't allow a patient to stop meds that made them feel ill.

I know, this psychiatrist is cheerfully writing in his notes that DH is uncooperative and refuses medication. Luckily, DH's therapist is part of a special Rural Healthcare Clinic and DH will be able to see their psychiatrist shortly - one who actually works for the VA, not a contractor.

But back to the main question. How is okay that Drug Reps are being allowed access to doctors who write scripts for veterans? Why is the VA allowing doctors who treat veterans to be influenced by Drug Companies? This can't be right. I know there's influencing going on, because when you go into the individual examining rooms, you see the Paxil note pads, the Enberel coffee cups, etc. (I can't remember the exact names I've seen, but you know what I mean. Goodies from the Reps.).

You know the Drug companies aren't giving anything away for nothing. I heard from someone who no longer works there (complete gossip, hearsay) that at least one of the doctors there is making a nice little part-time income from them.

So what do I do? Am I right to be outraged? Am I just freakin' paranoid, as usual?

Edited to Add:

Well I googled and I found this instructional essay for Drug Reps interested in selling to the VA. So at least there are limits to what they can give VA doctors located in real facilities. Limited.

http://pharmrep.findpharma.com/pharmrep/Selling+to+Physicians/A-different-world/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/316594

I know that the docs need information on what's available, etc., but shouldn't that come down from within the VA healthcare system, not from a 20-year old cutie with a commission on their mind?

Edited August 26, 2011 by hedgey

[halos2]

You are right with all of your posts on this subject. I bet I get junk emails at least 2-3 times a month to purchase medications from Canada for a much, much cheaper price. It is true Dr's get big perks for writing prescriptions for medications the drug reps are peddling. Seen it alot of times.

BTW I was a lucky one who survived after taking the deadly drug Vioxx.

I am glad some of us here still belive in the tooth fairy and Easter Bunny. Vioxx killed a few thousand people, but we will never know since the ones who could testify are all dead. Please tell me why drugs sold in the USA are ten times as expensive as any place else on earth.

Edited August 27, 2011 by halos2

[john999]

Halos

The first time I used the VA pain clinic I asked for Vioxx. They refused because it was too expensive and gave me morphine instead. So you go to the VA and ask for something like celebrex or mobic and they give you morphine. I was on morhpine, methadone and finally fentynal and oxycodone. I did take Vioxx and it one was of the few drugs that actually helped with the pain, but would probably have killed me.

[halos2]

John I am glad you stopped taking Vioxx, as you are too valuable a person to not have survived. I have been on fentanyl since 02 and hydrocodone all these years also.(I buy both myself and have for all these years, plus I bought my own Vioxx when it was prescribed.)

Halos

The first time I used the VA pain clinic I asked for Vioxx. They refused because it was too expensive and gave me morphine instead. So you go to the VA and ask for something like celebrex or mobic and they give you morphine. I was on morhpine, methadone and finally fentynal and oxycodone. I did take Vioxx and it one was of the few drugs that actually helped with the pain, but would probably have killed me.

[Stilt]

I am not a fan of big pharma. We all know how big pharma and congress connive to keep the price of drugs high. This thread started out with hedgey’s unhappiness with sale reps going into doctor offices promoting their products. It seems to have morph into a complaint of all things wrong with the pharmaceutical industry. My point, like it or not, is medicines are the single biggest reason the life expectancy of Americans in particularly have increased to where millions of us are living well into our 70s and 80s. Sure, not every medicine that comes onto the market benefits everyone. Often, the negative aspect of a medicine does not become fully known until many people had tried it. That does not mean we should condemn the pharmaceutical industry as pure evil with no societal benefit. It does not mean that doctors should be unwilling to try a new medicine. This is America. We are capitalists. We are free to make and sale products. I for one have fought in one war to keep that way.

[Notorious Kelly]

Today's miracle drug is tomorrow's lawsuit.

I'll take my chances skipping The Pillz.