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Working style of drug salespersons changed by tougher rules
  • By So Jae-hyeon
  • Published 2018.01.05 16:03
  • Updated 2018.01.05 16:03
  • comments 0

In recent years, South Korea has adopted a series of regulations and laws to root out illegal rebate practices in the pharmaceutical industry. They range from enhanced fair trade regulations to the adoption of a dual punishment system to punish both the giver and the recipient of kickbacks, and to the anti-graft law, called the “Kim Young-ran law.”

This year, the government will enact new legislation called “K-Sunshine Act” to require drugmakers to keep records of all the payments to doctors and pharmacists. Drugmakers should always be ready to submit the documents at the request of the authorities.

Stricter rules and laws have brought about changes in the way pharmaceutical sales representatives work. Korea Biomedical Review spent a day on Dec. 3 with a salesperson at a multinational drugmaker to discover how they work in a changed environment. The salesperson, identified only by his surname Chung, had been working as a drug salesman for five years.

A pharmaceutical sales representative with five years of experience, Chung said changes in drug marketing in recent years have allowed him to enjoy his evenings without work. The picture on the right is Chung in his car, filled with promotional gifts for his clients.

Chung left home at 8 a.m., reporting his start of work to the team captain by phone. He did not have to make the so-called “call,” or the reporting of the salesperson’s location through a PDA or a tablet PC. After a brief call, he hopped into his German-made luxury sedan, less than a year old. The car seemed a bit too much for Chung, who is in his early 30s with five years of working experience. But he had his reasons.

Chung said he has been driving a high-end automobile since the early days of work. His seniors recommended him to buy a luxury car, saying drug reps often move around with clients (doctors). When he moved to the current company recently, he changed his car. But the new one is also a luxury sedan. However, after the enactment of the Kim Young-ran law, he has never had a doctor seated in the passenger seat to give a ride, Chung said.

At around 9 a.m., Chung visited a clinic before the clinic’s director started to see patients at 9:30 a.m. Without any awkwardness, he chatted with nurses and administrative employees. It was the best time to do the marketing because there were not many patients in the clinic, Chung noted. He also said he usually gets useful information from morning conversations with clinic employees.

The clinic used to be one of Chung’s business lines that he had networked since he worked at a local drugmaker in the early days of work. In the past, he used to carry a packet of coffees for the clinic head and employees during his visits. Now, however, they regard even coffee as a burdensome gift. So, he visits the clinic empty-handed.

Chung dropped by another clinic nearby and went to a general hospital, another major client, at around 11 a.m. In the past, he used to receive phone calls from doctors who asked him to buy their coffee and snacks before the visit. Now, there is no such phone call.

Chung’s goal was to meet six doctors at the hospital to invite them to an academic conference slated for early this year. His company already prepared speakers for the event. Chung’s role is to recruit participants. Entering the hospital, he had something in his hands -- promotional gifts, offered by his company. Costing less than 10,000 won ($9.4) each, promotional gifts are the only marketing tool for Chung. During the hospital visit, he gave away hand warmers as promotional gifts.

Chung said promotional gifts gave him some room to breathe. His company recommends an aggressive use of promotional gifts worth less than 10,000 won, which are not legally banned. Unlike the old promotional gifts, they are mostly practical as well as good enough to soothe the guilty feeling that he did not go there empty-handed for marketing.

After Chung’s busy moves at the hospital, lunchtime came. However, his steps got even faster as he said he had to move the quickest during lunch time. The lunchtime makes it easier to meet a doctor, who does not have waiting patients. Professors at the research lab and employees at the pharmacy division usually take a break before the lunchtime, which is why Chung is busiest during lunch time.

By 1:40 p.m., Chung has met six doctors as planned to share New Year greetings, gave them promotional gifts, and asked them to participate in the upcoming conference. Fortunately, some of the doctors were interested in the event, he said.

At 3 p.m., Chung was finally able to have a late lunch at a nearby restaurant. He said lunch menus have changed since the anti-graft law. Before the Kim Young-ran law, he used to have a fancy lunch course at a luxury Korean or Japanese restaurant with hospital clients.

Due to the upcoming K-Sunshine Act, he has limitations in using the corporate credit card. The company decided to limit the use of the company’s card, warning salespersons that they should not be the first case to breach the law. Salespersons at other drugmakers are in a similar situation, Chung said.

After a brief lunch, Chung headed to a café to do paperwork from the morning marketing. On a laptop, he requested payments and orders and made a journal.

At the moment, a man in a business suit came in. The man spread a handful of greeting cards on a table and started filling them. Chung glanced at him and said that the man must be another pharmaceutical salesperson. Drug reps are now trying in every way to get themselves and their companies known to doctors, as they find it difficult to meet them in person.

Then, Chung visited a wholesaler specializing in prescription drugs to give New Year greetings and went to a university hospital. He met five doctors to promote the academic conference at the hospital.

At 6 p.m., Chung finished his work. He was happy about meeting 13 doctors as planned.

He said he felt the changes in the marketing environment. In his days as a new employee, buying dinner for doctors was a must. In the weekend, he used to be the chauffeur for doctors. Chung used to experience what he saw on TV or a movie depicting a hard working day of a salesperson. He used to blame his phone, which never stopped ringing at night.

“Although I have a relatively short experience, I can feel the changes. I never thought I would spend my evenings wholly for myself. But in reality, people are split over whether such changes are permanent,” Chung said. “Some say the recent changes will be short-lived and we will go back to what we used to be. But even for a short time, I find myself comfortable to enjoy my evenings,” he said.

sjh@docdocdoc.co.kr

<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>

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