Ed Silverman reports that pharmaceutical reps will now have to be licensed in D.C. From the story in the Washington Business Journal:
The measure makes D.C. the first in the country to license pharmaceutical company sales representatives, able to revoke that license if a salesperson’s activities were deemed fraudulent… The bill, dubbed SafeRx, also mandates that drug reps have a bachelor’s degree, adhere to a code of ethics and refrain from giving doctors gifts.”
As the Journal alludes to later in the story, the lawsuits have begun.
One Comment
Not sure this is the best course of action, and I find new regulations to be a bad idea, generally speaking, but pharmaceutical reps do seem to be a bad idea in general, from what I’ve seen of them… wine and dine doctors, overwhelm them with literature about your product, etc. Nevermind thoughts about which medication might be best, only that it’s yours, etc…
I’m not sure government interference is really worth it in this case, mind you, but some solution would be nice.