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There is such thing as free dinner!

Growing up, I always had to listen to my dad's cynical "There is no such thing as free lunch" warnings to me to not get duped by seemingly good deals with lots of fine print. Last night I found out that there really is such thing as free dinner. Thanks to the "drug" rep that took out me, Glen, and another resident! I felt a little guilty ordering a cocktail (pomegranate martini), an appetizer (shrimp hushpuppies), an entree (surf n' turf--scallops, foie gras, and pulled pork), a side (mac n' cheese), dessert (chocolate-filled beignets), and a cappuccino with no regard for the prices. I think that is more food than I ate all week, and boy was it tasty! All I had to do was sit through a two-hour dinner that revolved around surprisingly little conversation about the product that the rep was peddling.


This was the first "drug" dinner that Glen and I have attended, and it was so interesting to observe the strategy of the rep: build a relationship, maybe even a friendship, with the doctors. Only a few times did the rep mention how well a new product worked, but there was never any pressure for Glen and his colleague to use the product. Instead, we talked about our backgrounds and interests. As we drove home with full bellies, Glen and I talked about what effect the dinner had on his future decisions about which products to use. I'm glad that Glen is ethical enough to use his brain and not his belly to make medical decisions for his patients, but we could easily imagine how perks like this could sway others.

Comments (2)

Jul 20, 2009
Vincent Chu said...
It's not as free as you think -- the salaries and expense accounts of drug reps are paid directly in the form of higher drug costs passed on to the consumer!
Jul 24, 2009
songsofthesoul said...
It's kind of like TV free... the commercial may not make you run out and buy the product, but at least it'll be in mind in the future.

Also, even if it doesn't sway Glen in the least, it could be cited in the future as bias if he ever goes into studies. Or congress. Either one.

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