Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15765

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: news

Study: Physicians Trust Medical Meetings
Mimegasite News 2009 Jun 9
http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003981669

Full text:

Although they tend to be skeptical of most health care marketing efforts, physicians are typically more trustful of information that’s distributed via exhibits at medical meetings and events, asserts a new study by researchers at the University of Mississippi.

The researchers, who’ll present their findings at the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association’s (HCEA) 2009 Annual Meeting-taking place June 13-16 in Tampa-found that physicians in most cases viewed exhibits with less skepticism than either journal ads or field sales representatives. In fact, they viewed medical device exhibits with 27.4 percent less skepticism than device journal advertisements and pharmaceutical exhibits with 12.8 percent less skepticism than pharmaceutical journal advertisements.

“This study provides new and important data to help answer questions about the effectiveness of health care convention marketing compared with other forms of health care marketing,” HCEA Executive Vice President Eric Allen said in a statement. “As an industry, we need to do more to provide comparative studies in peer-reviewed literature to help demonstrate that effectiveness. HCEA is committed to helping lead that charge, and hopefully this study helps blaze a trail for additional serious research in this area in the future.”

The University of Mississippi study-titled “Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Marketing Efforts: Messages Lost in Skepticism?”-surveyed 453 orthopedic physicians about their skepticism and sentiments toward marketing and marketers, as well as the perceived credibility of health care marketing messages.