Drug recommendations

A new poll ("Patients Trust What Pharmacists Recommend") suggests that people trust pharmacists when they make a recommendation about an OTC drug. That's not surprising- we look at pharmacists as smart people who know more than anyone about the drugs. You've probably never had a doctor tell you that your pharmacist was wrong, but a pharmacist correcting a doctor (You can't take medicine A while you're on medicine B) happens on a daily basis.

On top of that, we never see pharmacutical reps showering pharmacists with, well, bribes the way they do doctors. Maybe it happens, but I don't see it. Every time my doctor recommends a drug, I always imagine the rep behind him, passing him a $100 bill and patting him on the back.