Comments on: Washington DC Sales Reps Must Follow These Rules

By: Jacomoto

Jacomoto — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:22:53 +0000

I dont even know what this is, but the cause your talking about must be pretty important because the other comments seem really, really mad!

SEE YA!

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:35:53 +0000

Why don’t they put the same efforts into battling the insurance companies that put money between patients and doctor. Or why insurance companies wine-dine the legislature and physicians at corporate boxes at ball games?

By: DougH

DougH — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:40:16 +0000

A number of hospitals / health care alliances are already requiring this. RepTrax in FL is one I’ve run in to. Many are stating that reps (both sales & med affairs) must have a TB test to go in to patient care areas (at cost) must pay for and take HIPAA and patient safety training @ their institution (at cost) and - at one institution - pay a “vendor tax” on all product sold to the hospital.
This will happen more, not less. Get ready!

By: Paul G

Paul G — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:36:36 +0000

Just a waste of time, effort and resources.

Even if city council and Catania are empowered to regulate plumbers and electricians, here they are requiring what 99% of people already have and do — i.e. no change!

By: Dr. Sal Giorgianni

Dr. Sal Giorgianni — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:22:30 +0000

As to the DC government proposal, it adds nothing in terms of safety and is simply a governmental shakedown. There are no sales-reps out there in Big-PhARMA that do not have degrees (there may, by the way be some in the generics industry without such credentials). All employees of Big-PhARMA each must review and sign a written pledge to adhere to ethical standards of the AMA-PhARMA Code and executives must also review, and sign standards of governance, business ethics and regulatory code adherence. There is also substantial, formal and documented initial and ongoing training required at virtually all levels of industry on standards technical, business and ethical. Part of the policies for most companies I know of stipulate that lack of adherence can end in termination. There are indeed bad players, bad decisions and bad judgments. But these are far outweighed by good talented people who behave in a scientifically rigorous and moral way. The goal, I would think, is to minimize negative people and decisions not scourge an industry that provides a public good.

The DC law is demagoguery at its most mean-spiritedness. It adds nothing except administrative cost to government and industry. It brings revenue into a constantly in-the-red municipality.

Please remember all, that every cost increment to PhARMA gets passed on in pricing. So, additional meaningless politically expedient and financially motivated moves such as this one do nothing to help the plight of those who cannot afford medications. It simply adds useless cost.

One final point here before I must go and barbeque some steaks, “industry” is not a machine. It is not some soulless entity like a creature out of StarTreck. It is an organization made up of human beings. It would be appropriate to refrain from stereotyping all in industry as without ethics or the industry itself without ethics. To do so is simply unhelpful, shameful and baseless name calling. It does nothing to advance finding and weeding out problems.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:02:27 +0000

Congratulations, Rep. Catania. I hope your regulation of Pharma reps spreads throughout the land. Step two could be banning the whole lot.

By: Mjaybee

Mjaybee — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:33:03 +0000

@pharma PR hack

Why don’t they similarly regulate lobbyists, attorneys and physicians?

DC’s infrastructure and city services are decrepit and neglected. Why should anyone believe they can do a good job policing reps?

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:43:12 +0000

If PHARMA and their reps have no ethics, then they must be regulated.

Also, how does regulating the activity of reps prevents new drug
development?

By: pharma PR hack

pharma PR hack — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:55:33 +0000

Mjaybee & Paul- I don’t think you understand the context at all here. This is the city council government we are talking about here. They handle zoning issues, garbage pick-up, school budgets and business licenses. They have nothing at all to do with drug development, gas prices etc. It isn’t like this is beneath their scope of work at all.

For them restricting pharma reps is on par or the same as deciding what level, if any, of taxation professionals pay in the district i.e. accountants, lawyers.

And as for the industry already meeting 99% of the requirements, that may be true but tucked in there is also the gift ban that as states pass, pharma attempts to overthrow under the auspices of free speech.

I think the ordinance is neither good or bad. And considering that the ordinance only covers the D.C. city limits; it is only groundbreaking in that it is the first legislation at a city level aimed at reps but doesn’t really physically cover a lot of ground!

By: Paul G

Paul G — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:45:19 +0000

Another waste of government money, effort and resources. Since they are totally incompetent in addressing real issues like healthcare, gas prices, local welfare in DC, etc. etc. etc. they resort to these issues that pretend to do something but in reality do nothing.

Probably 99% of the industry already meets these requirements, so what will it change? Nothing