Nursing Voices

Monday, March 26, 2007

Drug Maker Wants to Make Less Money, and Other Fairy Tales From the World of Mental Health


It’s another Monday morning, and I’m currently camped out in my favorite spot at my local Panera Bread. Just like this young lady, I’m lounging in a soft and comfortable seat while enjoying my day. I’ve parked myself by the all-you-can-drink soda fountain machine, and I'm savoring a wonderful egg-bacon-spinach soufflé. As I surf the web and sip on my second refill of Diet Coke, I'm watching people as they drive off to work. Life is good.





Drug Monkey from Your Pharmacist May Hate You has posted his thoughts about this story from the New York Times. It looks like a pharmaceutical company is offering us a "helping hand" while helping themselves into our pockets. Of course the company is claiming that they only have our best interest at heart. I’m sorry, but do we have stupid written across our forehead? Mental health care consumers are the targets of this new program. I encourage you to read Drug Monkey's entertaining thoughts on this subject.

3 Comments:

Blogger Kentucky Rain said...

Yet another example of big business gone awry. Since the appointment of the Bushmaster corruption has run rampant in the United States, and the rich have gotten richer while the rest of us have just been plain screwed.

5:10 PM  
Blogger Digi Rebel said...

I've been wondering about the same thing regarding Protonix at our hospital for the last couple of years. Approximately 7 out of 10 patients are prescribed this by their docs while their in the hospital. I know the hospital food isn't that good, but really....

11:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am in no way saying that this drug company can be trusted. I don't know anything about them or the drug business other than negative stereotypes (which had to be earned somehow). So while it's plausible that this is a sham, I think we're so completely jaded by corporate greed that most of us automatically dismiss out of hand the possibility that a company may choose to do something that really is what's good for the customer and not necessarily for the bottom line.

At least not directly.

See, I absolutely 100%, completely, totally believe that if you do what's best for the customer all the time, you develop loyal customers that...guess what...actually end up making you more money. They tend to be customers for a long time and they are passionate about telling other people. That's the kind of customers everybody wants, but few will do the really hard things it takes to create them--like forego easy short-term revenue.

Sure, you see plenty of companies succeed in the short run by milking every last dime out of their customers that they can. But how many of those survive at the top for more than a few years? I'd rather build a business on taking care of the customer and let everything else fall where it may. I may not ever be filthy rich, but I bet there's a reason they call it "filthy."

All I'm saying is be willing to give companies the benefit of the doubt. Some might surprise you.

9:06 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home