What? No pens

A few years ago, PhRMA decided to "self-police" and did away with all the social and/or ticketed events that pharmaceutical reps used to take doctors to. Gone were the ballgames, concerts, golf outings, Broadway shows, wine tastings, circuses, and yes, even complimentary car washes. Among the reps I knew at the time, the young, single ones were generally upset about this "assault" on their social lives. Most of the older, married reps, however, breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that they'd probably be getting more time at home with their families, and would not have to ever attend a Megadeath concert. The physicians who had become accustomed to partaking of these events were seething; they had become very used to attending and, in fact, felt a sense of entitlement to continue to do so. That, coupled with the "no spouse" policy, led to decreased rep access to certain offices.

Now we are faced with the latest house cleaning, as PhRMA has decided to implement a no restaurant meals, pens, pads, or hand soap rule as of January 1, 2009. PhRMA CEO, Billy Tauzin, said he hopes the code additions will create "more credible" standards for doctor-sales rep interactions. So, by that logic, it seems to me that if a rep ever gave me a pen, then my interaction with that rep was "not so credible." This apparently hasn't bothered PhRMA until now. I look forward to 2009 when my interactions with reps become "more credible"! I'll report on how different the messaging I receive becomes once the pens and post-its disappear. I predict that this will change absolutely nothing.