Bathroom Humor
Does anyone else find the humor in the bottle of hand soap in our clinic bathroom plastered with the name, logo and prescribing information for the drug Cialis, or is it just me? I'm guessing there's an accompanying bottle of hand lotion somewhere, yes??
And do you think it was intentional or not on the part of the drug company?
(And, no, for those who remember my diatribe of two years ago, I didn't use it, preferring to wash with the soap from the dispenser on the wall, labelled instead with the name of the soap-dispenser manufacturer. I also tried to peel off the drug label, in an act of vandalism and defiance, but it wouldn't budge. Apparently, they're on to me.)
And do you think it was intentional or not on the part of the drug company?
(And, no, for those who remember my diatribe of two years ago, I didn't use it, preferring to wash with the soap from the dispenser on the wall, labelled instead with the name of the soap-dispenser manufacturer. I also tried to peel off the drug label, in an act of vandalism and defiance, but it wouldn't budge. Apparently, they're on to me.)
posted by Diana at 1:44 PM
7 Comments:
Uh, Yes. Funny. (About as funny as anything is these days...)
(this is from Lisa, but for some reason it's not accepting my password..)
After reading your diatribe, I can see why you would not want that on there at all, other than that it is very funny and the hand lotion would be very slick.
I admire your stance and would hope for all doctors to be as wise as you are. I know my psychiatrist makes appointments with drug reps, I've seen him do it and I wonder if he is smart to, but then again, he has always prescribes the right drug for me. He is adamant about not giving me certain drugs, because of the side effects. (I am manic depressive and take a variety of medicines which need to constantly be in tune with one another.)
Thank you for this enlightening post. It's good to see how a doctor's mind works when put under pressure by a pharmaceutical rep.
Lisa- (Hi Honey!) I'm also wondering if there was a third bottle, that would go along with the soap and hand lotion-- say, a shampoo for the hair that grows on your palms? Dark glasses for the blindness? (Ahhhhhhh, I crack myself up. Perhaps I need to go doctor up that soap bottle in the bathroom?)
Irene- It's such a slippery slope, the pros and cons of the drug reps. It's so pervasive through our medical culture over here. How is it there, in the Netherlands? You have a national health program, yes? Here, they advertize all over the media and blanket most medical offices with subliminal and overt drug stuff. For instance, the clock by the nurses' desk is blazoned with an antibiotic commonly used for sinus infection and sneezes every hour on the hour, to call attention to it. Even though I've gone pharmaceutical-company-free, no one else has and most notes come to me on drug rep sticky notes, written with drug-rep pens. The drug reps still bring lunch, which I continue to boycott, which is usually easy as they don't scheduele them when I'm there. (I think I embarass the staff.) I shudder at the influence on something as important as the choice of a medication. (I wish I could label myself as wise, but it's really just contrariness that I've happened to find data to support.)
Diane, we no longer have a national health plan, but must now all buy our health insurance just like anybody else, leaving many people uninsured, in this way we are going the route of America and it is a big scandal.Our pharmacy automatically gives us the generic kid of drug when it is available. Antibiotics are not prescribed very often. only in very severe cases, your own immune system is supposed to fight the bacteria.
Funny that you actually tried to peel the label off.
As for the reps themselves or even the drug companies-all I have to say is it is really sad the way this has become such big business in this country. It is no wonder the costs of these drugs need to increase with how they advertise and what not. Yet when the insurance rates and doctor fees and everything else goes up the average person doesn't always realize why. Ok. I guess I better get off of my soap box for now. Sorry...
Irene- Really?!? No more national health? I'm flabbergasted. Here, the pharmacists also substitute generics when availiable, unless requested not to. We're getting slowly better at not throwing antibiotics at things that don't need them, but we've a way to go.
Lauren- That's what a lot of people don't understand. They tell me to just prescribe the expensive stuff as they've got great insurance but, see, the insurance companies aren't going to be taking a loss. If it's too expensive, they'll raise rates or cut benefits. Or both.
Yes, I do find that funny. And I would choose not to use the soap or the hand lotion!
There's one commercial that I enjoy for a drug, the one where the guy keeps going around with the big grin. Other than that, I don't pay attention. Deb tells me what is good for me and she checks everything first to make sure it won't cause problems with my major drugs. She's pretty awesome. Rather like you.
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