new address

well here i am again.

My old blog http://markjohnson.livejournal.com let's just say had some issues. I had trouble posting with the interface so i probably let all 3 of my loyal readers down.

Anyway, I am back better than ever. And what a blogging newsday it was. I finally quit my job at Merck today for some personal reason. It was really a long time coming. I don't have anything against Merck or MVD, the Merck Vaccine Division per say. But i think there ar ejust some organizational problems that really won't go away.

Lots has been written about the problems with 30,000 drug reps in this country making calls on 90,000 physicians (some of whom don't even prescribe) each day. It is turning into a battle between the big pharma companies, all looking for that additional share of voice. Or what doctors actually remember. As a result, reps are spending all day waiting in doctor's offices to drop off samples and give their 30 second preprogrammed spiel which is usually ignored. All this really accomplishes is gives physicians too much product and prevents a sale and annoys the physician.

Despite this, the vaccine sales process is even worse. At Merck Vaccine sales reps are responsible for 8 products. However, most physicians have absolutely no say in which product their office will use. Most offices or hospitals are tied to a large contract which dictates which product their office will use. All reps can really do in promote higher utilization is Merck's sole source product. Nice idea, BUT there are STATE LAWS requiring the use of most of these products. So what do the reps really do... i guess now i will never really find out.