Sometimes I get a letter which I just have to publish.
Here is one such comment.
I just read your book and found it inspiring. Inspiring because of your courage, your sacrifices, your tenacity and perserverence. These are are good traits and usually qualities we identify with success. Perhaps a twist of irony, perhaps not.
I'm confident the impact of your struggle and the awareness you bring to the American people will ultimately spell success, but success in terms other than the materialistic excess normally associated with the word. I 'm hoping that in small ways, such as with myself, change will occur because of you.
After reading your story, I took a long look at myself, and my relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. Years ago, as a physician, I examined my policy of seeing drug reps, and decided to allow them into my office with the rationale that the samples would benefit many of my PPO patients. The samples continue to be a valuable service I provide my patients. However, my participation of the drug dinner meetings have increased over the years. ( Got sucked in.)
It was an easy decision after realizing your sacrifices, for me to give up the dinners. I just want you to know, I support you a 100%, I'm glad you came to America, and I'm glad you made the right choice when faced with the very difficult life altering decision (which I'm sure is nothing close in magnitute to my decision to dump all HMOs).
Again, thank you for the inspiration to do the right thing. I will encourage all my colleages to read your book, and perhaps in small ways we can all effectuate meaningful change.
3 comments:
Very nice letter indeed. This basically honest and decent physician got "sucked in" by the relentless charm and pressures by the pharma reps into only the mildest of the "insentives" these companies offer. There are countless physicians who would not even consider giving up nice dinners in (usually) most fancy restaurants, let allone other insentives, like trips, bribary, payments for participating in fake trials designed to sell thier drugs, gifts of all kindes etc. etc. If one had to name the number one "crime" done by Big pharma it had to be the corruption of our most important element of health care, our physicians. If they did and do this in USA, Canada, Europe one could imagine or not what they did and do in the third world countries.
VERY pleasing to read. This is what I'm talkin' about. Affecting change.
What about the "barons" of Basel? This is the cradle of small (first) and big pharma of today. Are they watching this and sratching thier noble heads? One must wonder?
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