Several Superb Suggestions On Pharma Marketing And Free Samples
The pharmaceutical sales representative sometimes runs into criticism from a public-relations angle. There are some who believe that the pharmaceutical company, through their representative, retains more than the appropriate share of influence over the healthcare practitioner’s decision-making process. Every now and again we hear that much more time is spent on pharmaceutical marketing efforts than is spent engaged with research and development for the product itself. Be this as it may, certain pharmaceutical marketing techniques are very necessary should the practitioner be made aware of all the information needed, allowing an informed decision to be made about the prescription of a certain product to a certain individual. As part of this process, the sales force is critical in promoting the product within the market, efficiently and profitably.
In most recent times there has been a move in certain markets to restrict the giving of gifts, including drug samples, by pharmaceutical sales people to practitioners. One of the largest physician and hospital networks in Massachusetts, Partners Healthcare, has published guidelines that prohibit any researchers and physicians from within the network from receiving drug samples or gifts from any pharmaceutical makers. So stringent are the rules, that even sales representatives must apply for permission before they can even interact with any employees of the network, with a redistribution of any provided drug samples to an anonymous distribution system, spreading their availability throughout the entire network. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the guidelines as written correspond to a “serious and comprehensive step forward in the rapidly evolving arena of medicine and its relationship with industry.”
The policy was originally instigated following an internal review, at which time the network determined that there had been many possible conflicts of interest within the preceding year or two. At that time it was recognised that the relationship between the pharmaceutical company and the health care professional was fundamental to enable scientific advantages and advances to propagate to the patient, but the body did question whether some techniques used could compromise the integrity of the system.
At the heart of this decision-making process was undoubtedly the view that certain healthcare professionals could become biased in favour of the drug samples or gifts given, prescribing or recommended the associated drugs at the expense of others and more often than should have been the case.
The developments in Massachusetts are relatively new and it remains to be seen whether anything along similar lines will be rolled out within any other areas. We can certainly determine from this development that the pharmaceutical marketing industry is once again developing and changing. It is yet another reason why pharmaceutical companies should devote their resources to pharmaceutical consultants, so that the consultant can ensure that the team is up-to-date and ahead of the competitive game. In our current economy, pharmaceutical sales training will take on even more importance as new methods of communication are combined with changes in healthcare legislation to redefine the marketplace. The significance of primary accounts will increase in the market, as there is more reliance on two-way communication and information exchange. Thus key account management training is a critical component of pharmaceutical sales training and the competent pharmaceutical marketing consultant is best positioned to handle it all.
Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.
