"Blow this Whistle!!"

Lately, there has been much in the "pharmaceutical" press regarding corporate "whistleblowers." As a quick review, these are health fraud lawsuits brought forward by ex-company pharmaceutical reps. In fact, several of my old colleauges and friends that I worked with at Eli Lilly and Company are now multi-millionaires because of this very lucrative process. Each snatched a cool 10 million and laughed all the way to the bank. It certainly was much more than I ever made selling Zyprexa and I am not laughing anymore. Why didn't I think of this "bonus" program before being "involuntarily terminated!" Hey guys, give me a call next time around!

So here is a re-enactment of how this usually goes down. The whistleblower is often a long term employee of the pharmaceutical company. Chances are, he or she is top in sales performance and usually trying to do the right thing. However, he becomes "pinched", by an obnoxious district sales manager, backed by a foolish sales/marketing team in the spirit of optimal sales performance. All parties know the score. Drug promotion is based on FDA guidelines of "on label" prescribing (i.e., drugs used only where indicated). The representative is paid to sell "on label," but resents the ole' "wink and nod" surrounding "off label" discussions. The moral compass is checked and the rep to whistleblower transformation is complete! It is classic David and Goliath stuff. Of course, you know how the story ends. The representative quits in disgust and hires a wiley corporate law firm. Years later, we here of big pharma being fined in epic proportions over the fiasco, the former drug salesman is now a millionaire, along with his attorney buddies. Just google: Pfizer, Whistleblower.

So...as interesting or true as this all might be, you ask: What is your point? My point is simply, get energized and start blowing your own whistle at your very own health care game. There is plenty to go around. Here are a half-dozen examples:

1. Blow the whistle when your physician talks more than listens.
2. Blow the whistle when your physician treats lab tests and not you.
3. Blow the whistle when your physician dismisses your intuition. Moms are you listening?
4. Blow the whistle when your physician can't think "out of the box."
5. Blow the whistle when you hear, "Oh, we have always done it that way"
6. Finally, blow the whistle loudest when you see that patient in front of you, on the cell phone, at my pharmacy's pick-up window

...take as directed,
Blake