I read with interest the recent article in the Archives regarding junk mail.1 Just as the majority of dermatology is not intuitive, neither is the marketing of products and services. As an experienced practitioner of unsolicited mailing to dermatologists, I would like to address some of the points raised by Ms Nekomoto and Dr Elpern.
''... what purpose does [junk mail] serve?'' In a capitalist society, everything (even dermatologists' services) must somehow be ''sold.'' In this context, direct mail is one of the least intrusive ways to do this. Anything considered ''junk mail'' can be tossed in seconds; items of interest can be saved for convenient perusal.
''Is drug promotion of value to our patients?'' Many drugs do not have the sales volume to support personal sales or expensive magazine advertisements. I can assure you that the patients benefiting from these specialized, low-volume drugs are glad their physicians read drug-promotion