Drug companies spend about $25 billion per year in the US – promoting their products through a combination of direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads, supporting rep activities, and handing out drug samples. The practice of visiting physicians by reps in order to promote the company’s drugs is called detailing. Free drug samples given out during detailing visits account for $16 billion out of the $25 billion spent annually on drug marketing and promotion.
When a rep gives a physician office samples as a form of marketing, how does it influence prescribing behavior?
A recent study published in The American Journal of Medicine looked at the practice of sampling and came up with some interesting conclusions. The results of the study suggest that when samples were available, resident physicians were less likely to choose unadvertised or over-the-counter drugs. The researchers noted “a trend toward less use of inexpensive drugs.” The study went on to conclude that “access to drug samples influences resident prescribing practices,” and that this “could affect resident education and increase drug costs for patients.” 2
(1) Data is from Medical Marketing and Media Web site. Available at http://www.mmm-online.com/home/index.cfm.
(2) Adair RF, Holmgren LR. Do drug samples influence resident prescribing behavior? A randomized trial. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 118, Number 8 (August 2005).
