Doctors in Favor of Prescription Drug Samples

There are numerous studies out there on the topic of pharmaceutical drug samples. Some say it hurts pharmaceutical sales while others say that it helps sales. Other studies focus on what doctors think about samples. A lot of doctors like the idea of pharmaceutical sales representatives bringing them new treatments and helping them learn about new medications. I’ve included a few of these studies for anyone interested in learning more.

Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News editor David Vaczek wrote an article in the August 18, 2007 issue of the newsletter on preferences of doctors in reference to free pharmaceutical drug samples. The author found that most physicians still prefer for pharmaceutical sales representatives to come to the office. In fact, according to a survey presented at the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council's Annual National Symposium on Patient Compliance last year, a full “60% of doctors want to get samples through personal sales visits. Only 20% favor printing vouchers for patients to take to pharmacies, and just 10% prefer validating vouchers printed out by patients.” The survey also found that many physicians favor samples “for establishing patient relationships, for reducing patients' costs, and for starting off therapy.” The full article can be found here: http://www.devicelink.com/pmpn/newsletters/8_18_06.html.

Doug Stewart, member, Tube Council of North America, and vice president, sales and marketing, Montebello Packaging wrote an article for Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News Magazine on the effectiveness of prescription drug samples. He states that while many believe that giving samples to patients hurt sales of the prescription drugs, the opposite is true. According to the article, if packaging is done appropriately, drug samples can actually increase sales of new drugs, since many physicians are hesitant to prescribe a drug that has not been proven affective. To read the full article visit: http://www.devicelink.com/pmpn/archive/98/02/002.html.

The FDA published a guidance in March 2006 on the acceptance of drug samples by free clinics. The guidance does not establish legally enforceable responsibilities but rather describes the Agency’s current thinking on the topic. The guidance discusses the impact of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) on free clinics. To read the guidance visit http://www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/5519fnl.htm.

The Journal of General Internal Medicine published a survey about the use of free drug samples by doctors and patients. The survey found that accessing free samples is prevalent among many categories of patients, especially those with cost concerns and poor health status. To read more about this study visit http://www.springerlink.com/content/9871685172880q62/.