Table 2.
a) Percentage of hospital doctors rating each information source as ‘most important’ or ‘important’ for information on ‘old’ and ‘new’ drugs. b) Source from which information about the last new drug prescribed was first derived.
| a) Important in theory (n = 118) | b) Source for last ‘new’ drug prescribed (n = 112) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Information source | ‘Old’ drugs | ‘New’ drugs | |
| British National Formulary (BNF) | 77% | 76% | 2% |
| Senior colleagues | 68% | 81% | 27% |
| Medical journal articles | 59% | 71% | 13% |
| Other specialist teams | 59% | 74% | 6% |
| Monthly Index of Medical Specialties (MIMS) | 38% | 40% | 0% |
| Hospital clinical meetings | 31% | 62% | 15% |
| Junior colleagues | 31% | 40% | 2% |
| Drugs & Therapeutics Bulletin | 19% | 32% | 1% |
| Pharmaceutical representatives | 18% | 47% | 18% |
| Sponsored meetings | 13% | 34% | 1% |
| Journal advertisements | 13% | 30% | 3% |
| Direct mail | 8% | 15% | 0% |
| Medical school lectures | ni | ni | 10% |
| Others* | ni | ni | 3% |
*
hospital pharmacy, laboratory report, clinical trial involvement. ni = not indicated. Percentages have been rounded.