Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing and Its Impact on Healthcare Physicians of Pakistan: A National Survey

Objective Digital marketing is replacing traditional marketing strategies in the pharmaceutical industry. This study evaluated multiple aspects of the use of social media by the physicians of Pakistan, the current role of digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry, and its impact on the change in clinical practice. Methods This cross-sectional study included physicians working in various clinical settings with at least five years of clinical experience. The participants were surveyed on social media tools used, knowledge of digital marketing tools, and the digital presence of themselves as physicians. We also assessed their knowledge of digital marketing by the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan and its potential influence on changes in their clinical practice. Results Seven hundred eighteen physicians were included after taking informed consent. The mobile application WhatsApp (WhatsApp Inc., Menlo Park, CA) was the most frequently used application per week for medical-related purposes. Webinars/webcasts had the highest duration of use per week but were attended by only a few physicians, followed by mobile applications and informative health websites. The most frequently available digital marketing channels were found to be WhatsApp (29.94%), informative health websites (26.7%), and mobile applications (20.6%). Less frequently available tools were e-detailing (8.1%), webinars/webcasts (7.7%), tele-detailing (6.0%), self-directed web-detailing (5.2%), and marketing emails (4.2%). However, despite the limited use, webinars/webcasts had the strongest influence for changes in clinical practice (48%), followed by websites (42%), mobile applications (41%), WhatsApp (37%), and self-directed web-detailing (36%). Conclusion Despite limited use, the percentage of influence for clinical practice changes was highest for webinars/webcasts followed by websites, mobile applications, and WhatsApp. There is potential for increased use of digital promotion strategies from Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector.