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"Pharmaceutical Sales Force Structures & Strategies 1999-2000," a survey of U.S. physicians released by Newtown, PA-based pharmaceutical consulting company Scott-Levin, reveals that doctors rank Pfizer Inc.'s sales force as the most valuable. Twenty-eight physician specialty groups in nine core specialty areas – general/family practitioners, internists, pediatricians, orthopedic surgeons, obstetricians/gynecologists, psychiatrists, general surgeons, gastroenterologists and cardiologists – were surveyed for this year's study. 1999 was the fifth consecutive year New York-based Pfizer finished first across the core groups.

A Danish study published in the British journal The Lancet suggests that mammograms may be unjustified in attempting to screen for breast cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning patients taking Titusville, NJ-based Janssen Pharmaceutica's heartburn treatment, Propulsid® (cisapride) of new advisories concerning the drug. Propulsid is a treatment for severe nighttime heartburn in patients with gastroesophagal reflux disease who do not adequately respond to other therapies. The new measures are being recommended to help physicians avoid giving Propulsid to patients who are at known risk of rare, but serious, cardiac events associated with the drug.

Reps can make a better impact by managing the time they have.

Tips to help your written communications.

Reps need to spend time planning, account targeting and learning about new managed care tools that drive today's operations as well as prepare us for tomorrow's growth businesses.

Schering-Plough Corp., Madison, NJ, has announced the launch of a new, 120-member primary care sales force to complement its existing hepatitis C sales team. The new force is being acquired from Triangle Park, NC-based Innovex.

A last-minute provision, passed with budget legislation, may give Massachusetts a state-run bulk pharmaceutical purchasing program.

The proposed merger between Abbott Laboratories and Alza Corp. will not be completed due to an inability to come to terms with the FTC.

Drugsampling.com, a computer controlled system that monitors the distribution of drug samples, is being tested in Boston's Lahey Clinic.

St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., and Pharmacia & Upjohn, Peapack, NJ, announced plans to merge.

The effect of managed care on a physician's practice.

In our quest as sales reps to provide our physician customers with a valuable sales call, it is crucial to understand what the driving forces are in healthcare delivery and how they affect these customers.

Establish the right mood with clients.

According to the Surgeon General's report on mental illness, nearly half of all Americans who have a severe mental illness don't seek treatment.

A new report on medical errors from the National Institutes of Medicine of the National Academies calls for changes throughout the healthcare system including mandatory reporting requirements. The report, titled "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System," lays out a comprehensive strategy for government, industry, consumers and healthcare providers to reduce medical errors.

New York-based Pfizer Inc. is asking the shareholders of Warner-Lambert to vote to remove the current Warner-Lambert board of directors and replace it with seven executives that Pfizer has selected, "none of whom have any past or present affiliation with Pfizer," according to Pfizer.

According to a study of physician computer usage conducted by the American Medical Association, Chicago, the proportion of physicians using the World Wide Web has nearly doubled, from 20% in 1997 to 37% in 1999.

A report released by Palo Alto, CA-based consulting firm Health Strategies Group showed that 87% of physician contacts with pharmaceutical sales reps last less than two minutes.

There is no medical setting in which a doctor or nurse can have a more dramatic impact on a patient's life than in the emergency room.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced a bill that would provide more information about a health maintenance organization's formulary to its enrollees.

Ways you too can set yourself apart.

How to avoid a legacy of 'to-do' lists.

Medicare plans continue to rate high in overall satisfaction according to the results of a survey released by Caredata.com Inc., an Atlanta-based health care intelligence and Internet content provider.

A paper published in the October 1999 issue of Washington Legal Foundation's Contemporary Legal Notes questions whether the Food and Drug Administration's policies regarding direct-to-consumer advertising is deserving of the same First Amendment scrutiny as the FDA's policy regarding off-label promotion.

A retrospective study of 5,761 postmenopausal women nationwide sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control showed no increased risk of breast cancer associated with the use of hormone replacement therapy.

A bipartisan Medicare reform bill proposed by senators Bill Frist (R-TN), John Breaux (D-LA) and Bob Kerrey (D-NE) would offer prescription drug benefits along with structural reform of the Medicare program.

Independent pharmacies continued to grow in both overall sales and prescription volume, according to the 1999 NCPA-Searle Digest, which reports 1998 data. The Digest compiles and summarizes comprehensive financial data from independent pharmacies nationwide. Participating pharmacies evaluate their stores' financial performance based on revenues, expenses and other demographic information.