Effects of an educational intervention on residents’ knowledge and attitudes toward interactions with pharmaceutical representatives

Abstract

To assess primary care resident and faculty knowledge and attitudes concerning interactions between physicians and pharmaceutical representatives (PRs) and to measure changes in residents' knowledge and attitudes after an educational intervention, we conducted preintervention and postintervention surveys with a causal-comparative group in a universitybased primary care residency program. All primary care internal medicine and internal medicine-pediatrics residents and faculty were given the voluntary survey. In general, residents and faculty demonstrated similar responses for the preintervention survey. Differences between faculty and resident opinions were seen in two areas. Faculty were more likely than residents to believe that PRs sometimes use unethical marketing practices ( p Ͻ .05) and that the amount of contact with PRs in the outpatient clinic is excessive ( p Ͻ .01). The postintervention survey of residents demonstrated significant differences between the control and intervention groups for three attitude scales. After the intervention, residents showed an increased belief that PRs may use unethical marketing practices ( p Ͻ .01), that marketing gifts with no patient benefit may be inappropriate ( p ‫؍‬ .05), and that other physicians' prescribing patterns could be negatively influenced through the acceptance of gifts ( p Ͻ .05). A brief educational intervention can change resident attitudes concerning physician interactions with PRs.

Physicians' attitudes towards interaction with the pharmaceutical industry

“…This may indicate the importance of good knowledge and correct attitudes about interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. It has been shown that education and discussion about the ethical issues related to exposure to pharmaceutical representatives can improve the attitudes of residents and medical students towards interactions (22)(23)(24)(25). Interestingly, knowledge and attitudes about interactions with the pharmaceutical industry in the current study was not significantly associated with having received ethics education.…”

Characteristics of Physicians Who Frequently See Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives

“…Pharmaceutical detailing is restricted in many hospitals and medical clinics, especially in the teaching hospitals (McCormick et al, 2001;Lichstein, 1992;Brontzman and Mark, 1993;Education Council, 1993). Some studies show that the presence of restrictive departmental policies is associated with less favorable attitudes among physicians toward the value of interaction with PSRs (Brontzman and Mark, 1993;Sergeant, Hodgetts, Godwin, Walker, and McHenry, 1996;Hopper, Speece, and Musial, 1997). Therefore, the presence of a restrictive policy is expected to result in minimal use of pharmaceutical manufacturer-provided (promotional) information from any source including PSRs.…”

Characteristics of Physicians Targeted by the Pharmaceutical Industry to Participate in E-detailing

“…These results show that physicians who see pharmaceutical sales reps more frequently are more likely to be invited by pharmaceutical companies to participate in e-detailing, compared to those who see pharmaceutical salespeople less frequently. Some studies show that high frequency of PSR visits usually is associated with more favorable attitudes among physicians toward the value of interaction with the pharmaceutical industry (Brontzman & Mark, 1993;Hopper, Speece, & Musial, 1997;Sergeant, Hodgetts, Godwin, Walker, & McHenry, 1996).…”