Please keep these guidelines in mind when detailing me or the other health care providers in my office. Thank-you!
A pharmaceutical detail is an exchange of information. It is not a sales meeting. Please do not try to sell us your product. Just tell us about your product. How would it help our patients? Which patients would it help? Etc. It's up to us to decide whether to use it.
Do not ask us whether we are willing to use your product, or intend to use it, or even would consider using it. Do not close. Doctors do not report to pharmaceutical representatives. By asking us to make a commitment, you are doing more than just giving us information to help our patients; you are actually trying to influence our prescribing habits. This is inappropriate behavior, since it inhibits our freedom to do what's best for our patients.
Buying us lunch does not obligate us to do anything except to listen to what you have to say. If we say that we will not prescribe your product, do not argue or use pressure tactics to get us to change our minds.
Pharmaceutical representatives are an important source of information for health care providers. You help us to take better care of our patients. This is a most noble endeavor. Let's not make it into something other than that.
