Why didn't I know?

I will always make time for company reps whose message is short and snappy. I have these questions: What does your product do? Why is it better than the others? Does it have any dangers?

"Why can't I find this? I have been to five pharmacies and no one has it." She scowled at me. "No. I do not want you to order it."

There was a day when Eli Lilly would have covered us like a blanket. I am still an Eli Lilly enthusiast. I expect a lot from them. I expect Lilly to use every avenue available to get to me. I have faith in Lilly. It goes way back.

A few years ago, Lilly certainly would have sent a real person for some face time with me about Byetta. But now I had to learn about it by way of http://www.drugtopics.com/.

It's at the top of my favorites list.

Are pharmacists out of the loop? Perhaps we are just not an essential factor in the process anymore. Believe that and I could sell you on Bob's male enhancement program.

Minutes later, I threw up my hands at an Rx for Zylet (loteprednol etabonate/tobramycin). I have never seen a Bausch & Lomb representative in my life. I don't think they exist, but does B&L expect pharmacists to go to the Internet to find out about its new product? When I am left in the dark, I get embarrassed and drug companies are liable to lose me forever.

"My wife's doctor said to start this right away." The husband gave me a look that indicated that I was to blame. I called four pharmacies for him. No Zylet.

Here's a product that would have helped me personally. My recent colonoscopy prep had me headachy and nauseated. I found out on the Internet about HydraLife by Fleet. The only OTC electrolyte replacement product for adults. Nobody told me that I could have avoided dehydration had I used HydraLife.

I am a career pharmacist with absolutely no special credentials, but even doctors ask me what drug to use on occasion. There is value in making sure that I am educated. I'm one of the lazy ones. I want the USA Today version. Nice graphics. Concise messages. Short. I want a detail person.

Pharmacists with special credentials are prescribing every day. Thousands of pharmacists have received prescriptive authority. They may not be as lazy as I am, but are the manufacturers going to the wall to get to them? Not like in the past, I think.

These special credentialed pharmacists may actually be willing to wade through monographs of hundreds of words, but not all of them. The cornerstones of the process of getting the word out are the pharmacy journals, like this one. The problem is that I do not read all of them, and I'd give you odds that there is a whole big bunch of us out here like me.