Back in the mid-seventies I worked at the VA Hospital in San Francisco. I had a friend who was a psychiatrist there. At the time a lot of guys were back from Vietnam with with PTSD as well as guys whose whose schizophrenia blossomed while in uniform. And, of course, plenty of veterans from the previous wars who may have needed psychiatric assistance.
In any case, Ed played jazz guitar and as I was interested in all guitar he and I played together for a time. At a certain point I threw my lot in with some punk rockers, the Vah-Mitz (the name derived from the VA Hospital), and Ed, upset at my abandonment of jazz for punk, parted ways.
Long story short. When we played together Ed would pass along a lot of the free junk that the doctors used to get from the pharmaceutical companies. For example, he gave me a big blue paperweight in the shape of a stelazine tablet. I had that for years. Lost it somewhere along the line.
Another thing he gave me was a special radio, meant only for doctors. It picked up a sub-frequency that broadcast information only for doctors' ears. Mostly, the programming consisted of advertisements by drug companies, but it also broadcast what appeared to be lectures. Quite honestly, I didn't understand much of it. I thought listening might make me more knowledgeable in all things medical, but nothing stuck. It mostly put me to sleep.
At some point the radio stopped working and I tossed it. From time to time I wondered if this alternate channel of communications still existed, or if it had moved to another frequency. Whatever.
Well, the internet has the answer to all things. Here is a story from the New York Times in 1981 discussing the demise of the network. Bet most of you never knew of this.
The Physicians Radio Network, a round-the-clock service sponsored by several giant pharmaceutical companies, will discontinue broadcasts on May 31.
In 1974, Visual Information Systems, a division of the Republic Corporation, initiated the station exclusively for doctors - it currently reaches 80,000 physicians in 69 cities. Jay E. Raeben, president of Visual Information, said that his company had ''failed to persuade enough of the industry that the radio was a medium important to use.''
Transmitting on an FM sideband frequency, or subchannel, which could not be picked up on a standard radio dial, the network permitted doctors to communicate among themselves, more freely perhaps than might be possible before a listening lay public. This feature, however, contributed to the station's downfall. The necessary special receivers were distributed to doctors upon request and without charge. Mr. Raeben said that the cost of manufacturing and mailing such equipment had diminished revenues substantially. Used by Advertisers
Physicians rank as the profession most vigorously sought by adverstisers, because their prescriptions largely determine the profits of billion-dollar drug companies.
''Surveys show that P.R.N. affected sales very positively, especially as it impacted new products,'' said Robert E. Devinna, director of advertising for Roche Laboratories, one of the sponsoring companies. Eight minutes of every hour on the air are devoted to advertising. Programming focused on scientific breakthroughs and significant operations, such as the recent surgery on the Pope.
''P.R.N. rarely announces new drugs,'' said Mr. Raeben, who also acts as managing director of the station. ''We made a very considerable effort to insure that programming was not in the interest of the advertisers.'' If a new drug were announced, it would have to be newsworthy in itself, he asserted. May Turn to Journals
Mr. Devinna of Roche Laboratories thinks that some of the major drug companies that advertised on the network will probably turn more to medical journals now. He views this as ''shortsightedness of the marketing industry,'' and added, ''Traditional advertising channels are cluttered - it's a shame to see P.R.N. die.''
Of course, now the drug companies advertise during "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel Of Fortune".
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