Healthy Skepticism Library item: 6718

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: book

Kamat VR, Nichter M.
Monitoring product movement: an ethnographic study of pharmaceutical sales representatives in Bombay, India
ABIM - An Annotated Bibliography of Indian Medicine London: Zed Books 1997
http://indianmedicine.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/root/K/55269/

Abstract:

Patterns of pharmaceutical sales an social interactions between clients, shop attendants, medicine vendors and shop owners were observed over a 6 month period in 6 pharmacies in Bombay, India. During this time 35 sales representatives were observed as they interacted with pharmacy personnel and in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 representatives employed by three distinct types of companies: multinational pharmaceutical companies, local “Indian” companies and “indigenous” (ayurvedic-herbal) companies.

Keywords:
*participant observation/India/developing countries/sales representatives/doctors/gift giving/new drugs/pharmacies and pharmacists/quality of information/quality of prescribing