Story of a MD doc working as medical rep

This is a great article by a MD doctor who worked as a medical rep for a company and gave talks on Effexor and its use.
He also mentions in detail about the process by which company uses high tech techniques to find out doctors prescribing habits and then targets them for the particular medicines.
Finally he describes about the moral dilemma he faces when he works as a medical rep.

link from Nytimes.com at -HERE

clipped from www.nytimes.com Dr. Drug Rep a friendly representative from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals came into my office in Newburyport, Mass., and made me an offer I found hard to refuse. He asked me if I’d like to give talks to other doctors about using Effexor XR for treating depression I would be paid $500 for one-hour “Lunch and Learn” talks at local doctors’ offices, or $750 if I had to drive an hour. clipped from www.nytimes.com One note informed me that the physician we’d be visiting that day was a “decile 6 doctor and is not prescribing any Effexor XR, so please tailor accordingly. clipped from www.nytimes.com I found myself astonished at the level of detail that drug companies were able to acquire about doctors’ prescribing habits. I asked my reps about it; they told me that they received printouts tracking local doctors’ prescriptions every week. clipped from www.nytimes.com I feared I had become — a drug rep with an M.D. I began to think that the money was affecting my critical judgement. I clipped from www.nytimes.com I’ve asked myself if my work as a company speaker led me to do bad things