Training the Resident to Meet the Detail Man

To the Editor.—  Dr Ferguson¹ predicts that physicians will continue to receive most of their pharmacologic education from the pharmaceutical industry, and concedes that such information may be less than objective.The primary objective of any capitalist organization is to maximize profits. It therefore follows that any pharmaceutical company will attempt to generate more prescriptions for its products by means of advertising, visitation by detail men and women, and various incentive programs such as gifts to physicians as an inducement to prescribe a company's drugs.As a patient, I expect my physician to prescribe my drugs based on one simple criterion: that the drug be the best drug for me in any particular situation. If I learned that my physician had chosen a drug for me based mainly on the promotional efforts of the manufacturer, I would consider that he or she was seriously in conflict with the professional