Evaluation of Knowledge of Pharmacist and Non Pharmacist Medical Sales Representatives (MSRs) in Pharmaceutical Drug Promotion: A Comparative Study

Aim: The pharmaceutical industries spend a significant amount on the advertisement and promotion of their products, of which the largest division is spent on the visits of sales representatives of these industries to the physicians. The pharmaceutical sales representatives educate the physicians about the advancements in the medical products of their companies and hence are of pivotal importance in the prescribing behavior of physicians. To assess their knowledge with respect to their qualification was the objective of the study. Methods: A quantitative cross sectional survey was designed targeting the medical sales representatives (MSRs) in Pakistan with a probability sampling technique. It was sent to 716 MSRs all over Pakistan. 691 were returned giving a response rate of 96.5%. Cross tabulation and Chi square test X2 was used. . Statistical significance was accepted at p values <0.05. Results: It was found that almost a third of MSRs (30.9%) were pharmacist and the rest (69.1%) were non pharmacists. In regard to their source of knowledge the pharmacist MSR mainly consulted literature (50%) while the non pharmacist relied on marketing promotional materials (55%). Majority (92%) of MSR’s were aware of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs however the 60% of non pharmacist and 4% of the pharmacist MSR’s were unaware of the adverse drug reactions. Regarding the beneficence of adverse drug reactions 91% of pharmacist and 55% of non pharmacist gave negative answer. The ethical way of promotion was considered knowledge by 92% of MSR’s, while for black box warnings 90% of pharmacist MSR’s were aware while 61% of non pharmacist MSR’s were unaware. Conclusion: It is more beneficial if the MSR has a sound expertise regarding the therapeutics and well as other vital features of the drug. A pharmacist is a better choice for this purpose.

Author(s): Syed Imran Ali, Atta Abbas, Sidra Tanwir, Arif Sabah, Syed Ata Rizvi, Shazia Adnan, Muhammad Anas Tufail, Osama Mustafa Farooq, Usman Mumtaz, Mustafa Ahmed, Fahad Mahboob Sheikh and Zainab Abbasi

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