Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2838

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

Siegelman S.
How pharmacists rate detailmen
American Druggist 1974 Aug 1; 170:(3):19, 56-62

Abstract:

A survey of 1500 pharmacists’ opinions of pharmaceutical detailmen was conducted by American Druggist. 68.6% stated that detailmen do a good job of serving the needs of pharmacists. 83.5% said they would like the drug industry to establish uniform standards of professionalism for detailmen. 34.9% favoured mandatory government licensure for detailmen. 83.7 thought detailmen should be prohibited from giving unsolicited samples to physicians. 28.2% thought detailmen should be required to be pharmacists. 79.2% reported that some detailmen had sought access to prescription files. 30.1% of those said they allowed such access. 74.7% said that when a detailman visited physicians in their area, they usually noticed an increase in prescriptions for the products they detailed. All the preceding questions were answered yes or no. The average number of detailmen reported visiting within one month was 14.8. Overall, attitudes towards detailmen were relatively positive, but there were numerous expressions of censure, reflecting strong undercurrents of dissatisfaction. Included are six pages of verbatim responses, both positive and negative, to open-ended questions.

Keywords:
*editorial/cross-sectional study/United States/