I recently had some American, male, mid-life, on-going medical problems; routine & not of emergency natures. I asked about for a local MD of superior reputation; 1 emerged who seemed competent & spoke good English ? according to the local Gringo community.
I made an appointment in advance during the week of 30may05 for Mon 6jun05 @ 3:30 PM. Being American, I arrived @ 3:15 PM; there were @ 5 patients & 8 drug sales persons waiting, 5 males, 3 females, all Dominicans, all very well dressed & coiffured, esp. by DR standards. Each carried an over-sized & stuffed briefcase, normal for the pharmaceutical sales profession.
At 3:40, the MD arrives in his now very crowded office; i.e. @ 9 patients & 8 drug salesmen waiting. He admitted each of the drug salespersons to his office, 1 by 1, immediately, each carrying his / her briefcase; each took only @ 5? of his time, then left. All of the [paying] patients, mostly DRs & 2 Gringos, waited.
When all of the drug sales persons had been dispatched, he began to see actual patients; I was called into his office @ 4:25, @ 1 hour late. I politely asked him why I, a Gringo & very well paying patient-to-be, had to wait an hour for my appointment while he entertained drug salesman; he declined to respond. He told me in near perfect English that he recently had to take his mother to Santo Domingo to visit an MD; mother?s appointment was for 9:30; the MD actually saw his mother @ 1:30. He explained to me that I didn?t understand ? Monday was traditionally the busiest day of the week in nearly all MD?s offices.
I responded that if Monday was his busiest day, he is aware of that fact, & it might be better to be in the office early to handle the anticipated horde of patients & drug vendors. I thanked him for his courtesy; he was quite polite; I informed him that I needed a different MD & that he would not be happy with me as a patient. I walked out, politely, not rudely.
My questions:
* do all or most MDs take 3 or 4 hour lunch breaks; I imagine this MD left work at 12:00 noon, as most DRs do; this is surmise on my part; he returned @ 3:40, almost 4 hours later.
* Do all drug salesmen visit the offices of MDs on Monday? In the PM? Regularly? For 5? sessions? Why?
* What does a typical MD accomplish with a visiting drug salesperson in 5?? My estimate of the time.
* Is it routine for local, & perhaps foreign, drug wholesalers to pay kick-backs to DR MDs? For the quantity of product pushed onto patients? Is his part of DR medical culture? Food for thought?
* Has any other foreigner had similar experiences with DR MDs? Please share them with us. Thank you.
I made an appointment in advance during the week of 30may05 for Mon 6jun05 @ 3:30 PM. Being American, I arrived @ 3:15 PM; there were @ 5 patients & 8 drug sales persons waiting, 5 males, 3 females, all Dominicans, all very well dressed & coiffured, esp. by DR standards. Each carried an over-sized & stuffed briefcase, normal for the pharmaceutical sales profession.
At 3:40, the MD arrives in his now very crowded office; i.e. @ 9 patients & 8 drug salesmen waiting. He admitted each of the drug salespersons to his office, 1 by 1, immediately, each carrying his / her briefcase; each took only @ 5? of his time, then left. All of the [paying] patients, mostly DRs & 2 Gringos, waited.
When all of the drug sales persons had been dispatched, he began to see actual patients; I was called into his office @ 4:25, @ 1 hour late. I politely asked him why I, a Gringo & very well paying patient-to-be, had to wait an hour for my appointment while he entertained drug salesman; he declined to respond. He told me in near perfect English that he recently had to take his mother to Santo Domingo to visit an MD; mother?s appointment was for 9:30; the MD actually saw his mother @ 1:30. He explained to me that I didn?t understand ? Monday was traditionally the busiest day of the week in nearly all MD?s offices.
I responded that if Monday was his busiest day, he is aware of that fact, & it might be better to be in the office early to handle the anticipated horde of patients & drug vendors. I thanked him for his courtesy; he was quite polite; I informed him that I needed a different MD & that he would not be happy with me as a patient. I walked out, politely, not rudely.
My questions:
* do all or most MDs take 3 or 4 hour lunch breaks; I imagine this MD left work at 12:00 noon, as most DRs do; this is surmise on my part; he returned @ 3:40, almost 4 hours later.
* Do all drug salesmen visit the offices of MDs on Monday? In the PM? Regularly? For 5? sessions? Why?
* What does a typical MD accomplish with a visiting drug salesperson in 5?? My estimate of the time.
* Is it routine for local, & perhaps foreign, drug wholesalers to pay kick-backs to DR MDs? For the quantity of product pushed onto patients? Is his part of DR medical culture? Food for thought?
* Has any other foreigner had similar experiences with DR MDs? Please share them with us. Thank you.