Doctors and Drug Reps

The last time I went to my doctor I had to wait about 20 min. before I was called. In that 20 minutes at least 3 different drug company reps came in to see my doctor (you can recognize them by the large rolling case they have in tow). Now a group of doctors from Michigan State have published an essay calling on physicians to avoid those drug reps. According to the essay published in the February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, lead author Howard Brody said empirical data suggest that “interactions with ‘reps’ increase the chances that the physician will act contrary to duties owed the patient.”