Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the information pharmaceutical sales representatives provide to physicians. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search from January 1966 to May 1996 was done using combinations of the terms pharmaceutical industry, drug information services, drug utilization, physician's practice patterns and prescriptions, and drugs. Studies identified from this search were supplemented by material from my personal library. STUDY SELECTION: Studies had to be conducted in industrialized countries, based on direct observations of actual physician and sales representative contacts, and reporting quantitative results on the quality of information transmitted. SYNTHESIS: Four studies were included. Representatives usually mentioned the indications for their drugs, but omitted safety information. Representatives' information frequently contained inaccuracies. CONCLUSION: Sales representatives present only selected, usually positive, information about their products. Canadian doctors should not be passive recipients of information provided by sales representatives. Physicians who choose to continue to see representatives must critically compare the information they get from them with that contained in scientific publications.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Becker M. H., Stolley P. D., Lasagna L., McEvilla J. D., Sloane L. M. Differential education concerning therapeutics and resultant physician prescribing patterns. J Med Educ. 1972 Feb;47(2):118–127. doi: 10.1097/00001888-197202000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bower A. D., Burkett G. L. Family physicians and generic drugs: a study of recognition, information sources, prescribing attitudes, and practices. J Fam Pract. 1987 Jun;24(6):612–616. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Caudill T. S., Johnson M. S., Rich E. C., McKinney W. P. Physicians, pharmaceutical sales representatives, and the cost of prescribing. Arch Fam Med. 1996 Apr;5(4):201–206. doi: 10.1001/archfami.5.4.201. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chren M. M., Landefeld C. S. Physicians' behavior and their interactions with drug companies. A controlled study of physicians who requested additions to a hospital drug formulary. JAMA. 1994 Mar 2;271(9):684–689. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gordon M. "Disinformation" from pharmaceutical company representatives. CMAJ. 1990 Jun 1;142(11):1177–1178. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hemminki E. Content analysis of drug-detailing by pharmaceutical representatives. Med Educ. 1977 May;11(3):210–215. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1977.tb00595.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hodges B. Interactions with the pharmaceutical industry: experiences and attitudes of psychiatry residents, interns and clerks. CMAJ. 1995 Sep 1;153(5):553–559. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lurie N., Rich E. C., Simpson D. E., Meyer J., Schiedermayer D. L., Goodman J. L., McKinney W. P. Pharmaceutical representatives in academic medical centers: interaction with faculty and housestaff. J Gen Intern Med. 1990 May-Jun;5(3):240–243. doi: 10.1007/BF02600542. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Peay M. Y., Peay E. R. The role of commercial sources in the adoption of a new drug. Soc Sci Med. 1988;26(12):1183–1189. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(88)90149-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shin J. H., Haynes R. B., Johnston M. E. Effect of problem-based, self-directed undergraduate education on life-long learning. CMAJ. 1993 Mar 15;148(6):969–976. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Spingarn R. W., Berlin J. A., Strom B. L. When pharmaceutical manufacturers' employees present grand rounds, what do residents remember? Acad Med. 1996 Jan;71(1):86–88. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199601000-00022. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ziegler M. G., Lew P., Singer B. C. The accuracy of drug information from pharmaceutical sales representatives. JAMA. 1995 Apr 26;273(16):1296–1298. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]