Patients Unknowingly Risk Their Lives with Fake Meds from Canada

Patients Unknowingly Risk Their Lives with Fake Meds from Canada

 

Patients who obtain medications from Canadian-based suppliers may be risking their lives. Avastin is a legitimate drug used for cancer patients. Some fake Avastin drug has been discovered in the U.S.  It made its way here from Canada.  Although it originated from Turkey, it traveled through several middlemen.  U.S. citizens bought it from a Canadian pharmaceutical supplier. According to the Wall Street Journal article How Fake Cancer Drugs Entered the U.S., Kris Thorkelson’s Canada Drugs Group of Cos sold two batches of fake Avastin to doctors in the United States.

In my 15 years as a pharmaceutical sales representative, I sat through a number of speeches from company leaders regarding the dangers of obtaining medications from outside of the U.S.  My Arizona territory was close to Mexico. Therefore, I heard a lot of stories about patients going across the border to get cheaper medications.  Mexico seemed a little scary to some people due to the economy and developing nature of the country.  Therefore, later, Canada seemed to be the place people went to get a “good deal” on pricing.

Canada used to be able to obtain good medications more easily.  However the Wall Street Journal explained that, “by 2003, big drug makers seeking to protect their U.S. sales shut online pharmacies out of the Canadian supply chain, forcing them to seek supplies elsewhere.” It was at that point that pharmacies like Canada Drugs Group started looking to foreign countries to obtain medications.  Some of these countries do not have the strict guidelines that we have here in the U.S.

The sad thing about this particular case is that many cancer patients may have received fake medications that could cost them serious health issues.  The fake medication contained no active ingredient to help fight patients’ cancer.  The Wall Street Journal article cited a New York oncologist who claimed, “People who receive a fake medication instead of Avastin could have lost several months of their lives.”

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Women Dominating Sales Positions

 

Women are becoming a dominant force in sales positions.  In the article 10 Most Lucrative Industries for Women it was noted, “A recent study found that women are coming to dominate certain areas of sales, a traditionally lucrative field for those who excel. In fact, the study seemed to show that women tend to have better selling skills than men, translating into substantial earnings for saleswomen.”

When women were asked what their top 10 more desired sales careers would be, they chose:

1.    Pharmaceutical Sales

2.    Biotech Sales

3.    Dental Sales

4.    Insurance Sales

5.    Healthcare Sales

6.    IT Sales

7.    Medical Sales

8.    Advertising Sales

9.    Medical Equipment Sales

10.  Real Estate Sales

This is good news for women in the current questionable economy. Monster reported, “In 2010, more employers were willing to invest in their sales forces, having some faith that customers could be cajoled into buying. In October 2010 there were 145,000 more workers employed in sales and related occupations than a year earlier.”

For additional resources about women and sales positions, check out some of the following links:

Women Turning to Cosmetic Sales

Community of Women in Professional Sales

50 Best Careers of 2011

Sales Jobs for Women Search Site

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Six Tips That Will Get You A Better Job

In a recent article by EmploymentDigest.net, the author gave 6 tips that will get you a better job. These include: converting things you love into a career, having people refer you, improving your resume, improving your skills, getting certified, and looking for more possibilities.

I agree that these things are important.  In fact I included these tips and more in my book How to Reinvent Your Career: Make More Money Doing What You Love.  If you are considering changing careers, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to let opportunities to meet people pass you by.  I would like to add 6 more tips to the list he suggested. Here are some things to consider when you are out and about:

  1. Talk to people you would normally not talk to at stores and while you wait in lines to buy things.  Avoid the creepy or scary people of course.  But choose those that look like they may have something in common with you or are dressed in garb that you would like to wear for the type of job interest you have in mind.  By talking to people, you open up the opportunity to exchange information and expand your connections.
  2. Always have a supply of your business cards with you.  If you don’t work for a company, print up some simple contact information cards with your email, phone and any website or social networking information that you would like to share.
  3. Have an unusual way of being remembered.  I used to print my business card on stickers and attach them to the top of an Altoids box of mints.  I would give those away to customers that I wanted to have them remember me.  Think of little things you can do to be remembered in people’s minds and present them to people you meet that you would like to work for or do business with in the future.
  4. Do something for someone else.  If you help people, they will want to help you.  If there is an industry you want to be in, find someone in it to help.  I know a lot of people want to be pharmaceutical representatives, for example.  If they submit your resume, they get paid a finder’s fee.  Find out what is in it “for them” to have someone refer you.
  5. Remove any damaging information from the Internet that could hurt your chances of being hired.  Remember that fun weekend you posted on Facebook?  So will the person interviewing you if it is available out there.
  6. If you get an interview with someone that you can research online, do your homework.  Find out all you can about them that is complimentary or interesting.  People like to talk about themselves.  It also shows you cared enough to find out more about them or their company.