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Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study

INTRODUCTION: Drug promotion has to contribute to a more rational use of drugs. Concerns arise if promotion negatively influences prescribing/dispensing pattern. It is warranted to assess exposure and attitudes to, and acceptance of, drug promotion among pharmacists and physicians. METHODOLOGY: Adop...

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Autor principal: Zaki, Noha M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4281594/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25561865
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2014.02.008
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author Zaki, Noha M.
author_facet Zaki, Noha M.
author_sort Zaki, Noha M.
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description INTRODUCTION: Drug promotion has to contribute to a more rational use of drugs. Concerns arise if promotion negatively influences prescribing/dispensing pattern. It is warranted to assess exposure and attitudes to, and acceptance of, drug promotion among pharmacists and physicians. METHODOLOGY: Adopting a randomized, multiple site and cross-sectional survey study, questionnaires (n = 250) were completed by physicians and pharmacists to investigate the exposure, acceptance or skepticism of Saudi physicians/pharmacists to drug promotion as well as their perception of the appropriateness of gifts and to check if they had any teaching/training about dealing with medical representatives (MRs) and Pharma promotion. RESULTS: Significantly more pharmacists than physicians (32% vs. 23%; p < 0.05) reported being taught or educated about the ethics of drug promotion. The experience level was significantly associated with the teaching or training that the physicians and pharmacists received. Conference registration fees and drug samples were the most appropriate promotional gift for the physicians (67% and 66%, respectively; p < 0.01) whereas for pharmacists, the drug sample was considered the most suitable donation (79%). More pharmacists perceived drug companies as a useful way to gain knowledge about drugs than physicians (75% vs. 65%; p < 0.01). A higher proportion of both groups were accepting drug promotion than those skeptical about it. CONCLUSION: The majority of physicians or pharmacists participating in this study have received gifts from pharmaceutical companies. The drug samples and printed educational materials are the most widely accepted gifts. Recent graduates and those with few years of experience had higher teaching/training than experienced physicians and pharmacists in pharmaceutical promotion ethics and tactics to deal with MRs. On the other hand, experienced healthcare team were more approached and targeted by pharmaceutical companies and MRs. It is highly recommended to implement courses/discussion groups on the ethical interaction between healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies in the curriculum of both pharmacy and medicine. Updating the physicians and pharmacists after graduation, as part of continued medical/pharmacy education, will eventually improve the healthcare professionals’ capability to act to the patients’ welfare.
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spelling pubmed-42815942015-01-05 Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study Zaki, Noha M. Saudi Pharm J Original Article INTRODUCTION: Drug promotion has to contribute to a more rational use of drugs. Concerns arise if promotion negatively influences prescribing/dispensing pattern. It is warranted to assess exposure and attitudes to, and acceptance of, drug promotion among pharmacists and physicians. METHODOLOGY: Adopting a randomized, multiple site and cross-sectional survey study, questionnaires (n = 250) were completed by physicians and pharmacists to investigate the exposure, acceptance or skepticism of Saudi physicians/pharmacists to drug promotion as well as their perception of the appropriateness of gifts and to check if they had any teaching/training about dealing with medical representatives (MRs) and Pharma promotion. RESULTS: Significantly more pharmacists than physicians (32% vs. 23%; p < 0.05) reported being taught or educated about the ethics of drug promotion. The experience level was significantly associated with the teaching or training that the physicians and pharmacists received. Conference registration fees and drug samples were the most appropriate promotional gift for the physicians (67% and 66%, respectively; p < 0.01) whereas for pharmacists, the drug sample was considered the most suitable donation (79%). More pharmacists perceived drug companies as a useful way to gain knowledge about drugs than physicians (75% vs. 65%; p < 0.01). A higher proportion of both groups were accepting drug promotion than those skeptical about it. CONCLUSION: The majority of physicians or pharmacists participating in this study have received gifts from pharmaceutical companies. The drug samples and printed educational materials are the most widely accepted gifts. Recent graduates and those with few years of experience had higher teaching/training than experienced physicians and pharmacists in pharmaceutical promotion ethics and tactics to deal with MRs. On the other hand, experienced healthcare team were more approached and targeted by pharmaceutical companies and MRs. It is highly recommended to implement courses/discussion groups on the ethical interaction between healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies in the curriculum of both pharmacy and medicine. Updating the physicians and pharmacists after graduation, as part of continued medical/pharmacy education, will eventually improve the healthcare professionals’ capability to act to the patients’ welfare. 2014-03-06 2014-12 /pmc/articles/PMC4281594/ /pubmed/25561865 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2014.02.008 Text en © 2014 King Saud University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
spellingShingle Original Article
Zaki, Noha M.
Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study
title Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study
title_full Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study
title_fullStr Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study
title_full_unstemmed Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study
title_short Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: A Saudi study
title_sort pharmacists’ and physicians’ perception and exposure to drug promotion: a saudi study
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4281594/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25561865
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2014.02.008
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