Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1455

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Bardelay D, Bécel B.
Visits from medical representatives: fine principles, poor practice
Prescrire International 1995; 4:(18):120-122

Abstract:

Despite recent changes in France such as provisions for professional cards, specific training requirements, compulsory qualifications, ethical codes of practice, the European directive and French legislation on drug advertising and anti-gift legislation, Prescrire’s medical sales representative monitoring network has seen no evidence of an improvement: 13% of detailers quote excessively high doses; side effects, contraindications and interactions are not mentioned in 71-82% of visits and when doctors ask about side effects they obtain an answer in about 75% of cases. For about a year there has been a tendency for companies to promote drugs that have been licensed in France but are not yet on the market. When sales of drugs with doubtful efficacy begin to wane promotion of off-license uses knows no bounds.

Keywords:
*analytic survey France sales representatives quality of information safety & risk information la revue Prescrire EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: DETAILING