Hi Kamal This is not right to blame the medical representatives because of the following. 1.There is no proper training delivered by companies. 2.There is always sales pressure. 3.PMT initiatives are of closed room theory not of practical approach. 4.Doctor sponsorships were the obligations which they made right,sponsorships were done by the senior management not by MRs. 5.Why it happens that one MR fails in one company and is very successful in an other company. 6.Insurance industry is known to give the best enviorment and equality,employee friendly,listening to the problem and coming up with solutions of practical approach. 7.Pharma managers are only to ask sale rather then providing solutions. So to blame to only MR by taking cushion of Dr is not valid.There is need of the hour to check the back end and to stick with basics,to upgrade the MR. If all is driven with the right approch and sincere efforts then need not to be serious,result is bound to come. Drs respect MR and ensure prescriptions also if taken care on the knowledge updation and this can be done by MR only . By-Kiran verma
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kiran verma, Branch Manager/Regional Manager, Branch manager
| 02 16 2011 03:35:58 +0000
Visiting of so many Med. Reprentatives to any Doctor create confusion/corruption. Doctors prescribe on the basis of commision package but not on the basis of perfact required medicines.
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R N Bhattacharyya, Freelancer, Freelancer
| 06 30 2010 14:53:56 +0000
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The only thing i would like to share that M.R. is increasing day by day as pharma company also increasing. Today's Comapny's are hiring M.R. who are graduate from B.Com, B.A. or other so it will definitely effect in industry as well as doctors. Otherwise M.R. is a medium who give update knowledge about medicine etc. Apart from that lack of proper training , product knowledge, benefit, Doctors are avoid M.R. Comapny are hiring those executive who are not fluently communicate, unable to explain product feature etc. If you analyze in market, you will face many M.R.after M.B.A. Today's Engineer, b.com. b.a., M.B.A marketing are working as M.R., ... M.R. is require and important for any doctor. But the only require to change in policy of hire the M.R.
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Virag Shah, Confidential
| 02 16 2011 06:01:04 +0000
What was the initial idea of having a medical representative? He was supposed to bring in to the notice of the doctors the latest advances in the particular field and the drug which his company has launched. If the person who is presenting that is not so knowledgeable about it, then i really don't find the reason of the job profile even existing. Its just not about the gifts which the doctors get from the pharma companies. The pharma lobby is strong and rich and they wanna make profit out of the greed of a doctor. May be preferring to hold a CME and with knowledgeable people is more necessary rather than just trying to meet your sales targets. May I point that medical representatives are ultimately for the updation of the knowledge of a Doc when they visit them
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Rahul Mathew Nimmagadda, Medical Officer, ONGC
| 02 16 2011 05:57:29 +0000
CONFESSION OF A MEDICAL REPRESENTATIVE Some pharma companies hand out hard cash to doctors to get them to prescribe their products. When I started out nine years ago, things weren’t so blatant. But here is how medical representatives go about sponsoring doctors. Say, there is a cardiologist who has about 100 regular patients. The medical rep promises him things like DVDs, washing machines, etcetera, if he gives him 40 of his patients for the next six months. The second thing companies do is sponsor conferences. A doctor never pays for these trips. Right from picking him up from his house, the company foots the bill—about Rs 1.5 –2 lakh per doctor. A common demand by doctors is to make arrangements for their spouses to go on the trip as well. There is an Indian company that has a lobby of 20-odd doctors who are taken with their spouses to international destinations like Bangkok every year. Of the five days, one day is allotted for the conference and the rest is time off. The understanding is that the doctors will prescribe the company’s product for the rest of the year. And this happens every year. Sometimes, doctors demand hospital equipment as well. There are instances of entire hospitals being built through industry support. A company’s budget depends on the doctor’s expectations. The company evaluates the doctor’s potential to deliver on sales and then decides if his demands are feasible. I have the freedom to spend about Rs 50,000 at any point. It could, for instance, be on a dinner meet at a five-star hotel. That is not to say there are no good doctors. I would say 30 per cent prescribe genuine medicines. But the rest look for benefits. I suppose times are competitive; so many doctors enter the field each year. When practice is slow, a doctor will look at other ways to make money. Source: http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/confessions/confessions-of-a-medical-representative
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S. Muralidharan, Executive Director, Knowledge Foundation & Campus Around the Corner
| 02 16 2011 04:31:42 +0000
Dear Bindu, thanks for reffering this debate, I am not totally disagree with you, but the real story of a med rep is totally diffrent. In today's scenario a med rep is no more a rep he has been modified in hardcore sales person & Pharma companies (except of few) need a person who is excellent in sales skipping the fact that a med rep should be well equipped with the knowladge & should posses some maturity critaria so that to provide right & usefull information to the doctors. which is actuallu needed because every dr has heavy working hours & doe's nt have time for their knowladge refreshment. Morever I still appreciate MNC those are not only eyeing for business but also strethening the knowladge of theire reps through coaching & training , which actually helps a doctor to make a correct choice of drugs. And I will say If u r blamming MNC's for the cost matter, Pl see what is happenning in medicine market , more than 30% market is captured by propaganda companies those are selling medicine's without any standerd . which is more harmfull than benefitting the patient.
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Brij Kishor Mishra, Product Specialist at Alcon Laboratories India Pvt Ltd.
| 07 05 2010 03:10:52 +0000
THERE ARE MANY COMPANIES MANUFACTURING MANY DRUGS WHICH ARE TO BE TAKEN TO THE NOTICE OF DOCTORS.MEDICAL REP IS ABRIDGE BETWEEN COMPANIES AND DOCTORS. INTRODUCING NEW BRANDS,BRAND EXTENSIONS,MODIFICATIONS AND ALSO GIVE THEM VARIOUS REFERENCES AND RESULTS OF RESEARCH WHICH MANY DOCTORS CAN`T GET EASILY.THIS IS THE POSITIVE SIDE.NEGATIVE SIDE VERY BRIEFLY PUT IS ALL UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN ETHICAL INDUSTRY.
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s.baalu , Consultant, XYZ LTD
| 06 30 2010 13:48:42 +0000
It is the Doctors who are 2decide. Further, Medical Representation is a profession : should we abolish this ? If they might not have done too good for healthcare, have ever heard that they have done anything bad ( exceptions discussed elsewhere ) ? -- delivers latest news, new preparations, new inventions, effects and side effects ( there is no such need in case of Homeopathy ... becoz ... -- would U also like to abolish Sales Representatives Similarity : News anchor / Radio Jockey : so many news/ music are there, s/he helps to deliver the latest from the channel .................................. Sorry that I am not in the profession. Somebody from the profession should have expressed their views .
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ASOKE KUSARI, Domestic Private Banking-Executive/Manager, A large leading PSU Bank - India
| 06 28 2010 18:59:27 +0000
Thanks for the referral Ms Bindu MR visits a Doctor to promote their brand, I agree that for doing this they sometimes use unethical means, which is even at times demanded by the doctors. But there is a different picture to this, an experienced MR will not only tell the doctor about the advantages of the product, but tell them about the efficacy also. MR helps the Doctor know about the different brands available in the market, as at times prolonged use of one brand does not bring out the result and changing of the brand , but the composition remains the same brings out result. Unless a doctor is coming in contact with different MR he/she will not know the different brands.
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Dr Ali Ahmad, Independent Health Care Consultant, Hospital Management Consultant
| 06 25 2010 17:14:58 +0000
I think MED. REPs are part of the doctors life to know about the different types of medicines in the market. But it is a sad truth that because of the competition within the pharma companies it is poor patients that are affecting by the way of increasing the rate of medicines to meet the expenses as Ms. Bindu explained. It is not only for doctors, some companies are offering upto foreign trips for Medical reps for completing the target.
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Manoj Kumar, Sr: Manager - QA, ARCHETYPE GROUP, INDIA
| 06 25 2010 11:55:54 +0000
In a fraction of few minutes it certainly helps the doctor to get to know some new drugs and latest innovations and probably better and cheaper products too. So I think its necessary that medical reps call on Doctors. Actually they are the people who bring in the market for the pharma companies so the pharma companies cannot dispense with them at the present moment
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Rahul Mathew Nimmagadda, Medical Officer, ONGC
| 06 25 2010 08:30:44 +0000
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