Drug rep encounter

This past week has been a pretty slow week at High Point. I am seeing rehab patients, psych patients, radiation patients, and anything else that might come up. There are simply not a lot of patients right now.

I did have an interesting encounter with a drug rep while I was following a dietitian in the Diabetes Center. Several conflicting studies have raised some concerns about a particular insulin. One study showed an increased risk in cancer compared to 2 other versions of insulin. Other studies showed no increased risk. The drug rep came by the center to "alleviate" any fears that any of the dietitians or physicians may have concerning their drug. Now, I realize that not all drug reps are "bad" nor do they fit the stereotype. But I hate to say that she very much fit the stereotype. She had all of the research studies with her to give us, but she made it very clear that she was not supposed to do so (and thus, was basically doing us a huge favor and showing us that they have nothing to hide). Nevermind that these studies are published in peer-review journals that we all have access to and quite easily. She was quick to rattle off all the negatives and "invalid" aspects of the main study in question, yet she was not able to answer any of my questions related to study design, models used, or outcomes measures. Granted, she admitted to not being an expert in epidemiology and did say that she could give us the contact name and number of one of the research specialists at her company to answer my questions. But still, in order to tout the pros and cons of a study, she should know a little more, I would think.

It was definitely a bit fishy....