To the Editor:
Your otherwise excellent article did not mention some important issues related to the pharmaceutical industry and doctors.
When I started my practice 48 years ago, the relationship between doctors and drug company representatives was primarily informative. In those days they were known as “detail men.” The only woman I saw was promoting baby food and infant vitamins.
The role of drug company representative [sic] was both education and promotion. They also provided samples of their medicines that doctors could give to patients to try out before filling a new prescription.
The only advertising was in medical journals and at educational meetings; there was no advertising to the public.
The main reward for doctors was that the drug industry often paid for educational conferences. Sometimes these conferences were accompanied by a sports event or a show, and they were always accompanied by drug detailers pushing their products.
I would welcome the return to the days when there was no advertising to the public, very few goodies and an emphasis on education.
Melvin H. Kirschner
Granada Hills, Calif., Dec. 31, 2008
The writer is a medical doctor.
