Yesterday on my way to class, Shared Solutions called me. Shared Solutions is the name of the "support" arm of the company that makes my MS drugs.
Think about that for a minute, and tell me you don't find it sinister. I suppose it's slightly less sinister because MS has no cure, so it's not like they need to worry about keeping me sick. But it still strikes me as somehow very wrong that a company whose main interest in me is that I pay them (or more accurately, my insurance company pays them) $1000+ a month wants to be my buddy.
I'm not bothered by the idea of the 24 hour nurse line - that's useful (at least potentially, I've never used it), and it strikes me as good customer service to provide that. And it doesn't bother me that they encourage their customers to report on odd effects - "post market research," as it's called, is important, since nobody thinks we should wait a lifetime to do a full longitudinal study before releasing drugs to the market, and yet it's important to know the effects of drugs long-term.
But that they call periodically, just to check on me? Creepy. Like, I want my friends in Charleston and San Jose and [wherever Harper is now, I have no idea] to do that, because they're my *friends*. But my drug company? Mind your own, please. I'll call you if I need you.
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5 comments:
At least you're in good company. Oh wait.
yikes!
So what would they do if you don't answer? Call 911?
Hm, good question. I'll have to stop answering my phone and see what happens.
It's telling that whenever I get a phone call from someone my phone doesn't know, it's either the drug company or the pharmacy 99% of the time.
Another fun thing to do, would be to tell them you suspect a side effect of your medication is paranoid delusions, because you keep having this feeling that complete strangers are calling you to ask personal questions about your illness. Tell them you've already filed a report with the FDA.
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