Healthy Skepticism Library item: 6443

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

Pelton LE, Strutton D, Smith MC.
Pharmaceutical promotion to physicians: a synthesis model of persuasive communications
Journal of Social and Administrative Pharmacy 1994; 11:161-172

Abstract:

Attempts to achieve balance between industry self-governance and the need for regulatory intervention aimed at shaping the character of pharmaceutical promotions have been unsuccessful. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently called for stricter promotional guidelines that would profoundly influence how new drug information is delivered to prescribing physicians. A FDA precept guiding the agency’s regulation of prescription drug promotions is compliance with the fair balance requirement, e.g., the requirement that unfavourable information which may provoke skepticism among targeted physicians also be provided. When coupled with increasing public scrutiny of their promotional activities, this provision suggests pharmaceutical manufacturers should re-evaluate the content and objectives of their promotional strategies. A prescriptive model of persuasive communications is developed that addresses this planning issue. The model adopts a disaggregate perspective, introducing physician and therapeutic involvement as moderators of the way in which physicians decode persuasive communications. To this end, a framework that partially reconciles the educational and promotional intent of phamaceutical promotions is provided.

Keywords:
*nonsystematic review/United States/regulation of promotion/Food and Drug Administration/FDA/doctors/American Medical Association/AMA/sales representatives/sponsored symposia & conferences/journal advertisements/drug samples/influence techniques/continuing medical education/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: INFLUENCE TECHNIQUES/PROMOTION DISGUISED: PRESS CONFERENCES AND PRESS COVERAGE/PROMOTION DISGUISED: SUPPORT FOR CME/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: DETAILING/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: JOURNAL ADVERTISEMENTS/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: SAMPLES/REGULATION, CODES, GUIDELINES: DIRECT GOVERNMENT REGULATION/REGULATION, CODES, GUIDELINES: HEALTH PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS