Healthy Skepticism Library item: 3269

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

Benseman J.
The great paper waste: the use of unsolicited medical literature by general practitioners
New Zealand Family Physician 1985; 12:96-98

Abstract:

Unsolicited mail sent to general practitioners over a period of six weeks was collected and classified. Ten out of 45 doctors eliminate obvious drug company material without opening it. 55% opened and skim read drug company advertising and company mailings including academic journal reprints. Drug company sponsored journals were favoured by a majority of doctors over academic journals such as the New Zealand Medical Journal or the British Medical Journal because they were more relevant to the concerns of general practice. Only 4% of respondents did not see sales representatives and most said that they were happy to see detailers although this was done more out of a sense of courtesy than the general practitioner actively seeking information.

Keywords:
*analytic survey/New Zealand/primary care doctors/direct mail/ controlled circulation journals/ sales representatives/ value of promotion/source of information/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: HEALTH PROFESSIONALS/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: DIRECT MAIL/PROMOTION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION: DOCTORS/PROMOTION DISGUISED: JOURNAL REPRINTS/PROMOTION DISGUISED: JOURNAL SUPPLEMENTS, CONTROLLED CIRCULATION JOURNALS AND NEWSLETTERS/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: DETAILING