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.
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 by hedgey
Let us be kind, one to another, for we are each of us together in our pain.
Question
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 by hedgeyLet us be kind, one to another, for we are each of us together in our pain.
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