Prescriber Profiling: Time to Call It Quits
Authors: David Grande
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Editorials15 May 2007Prescriber Profiling: Time to Call It QuitsDavid Grande, MD, MPADavid Grande, MD, MPAFrom Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-10-200705150-00010 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Pharmaceutical marketing to physicians recently surpassed $23 billion per year, and the pharmaceutical industry currently employs 1 sales representative for every 5 office-based physicians (1, 2). In this setting, policymakers and patients are understandably concerned about commercial influences on physicians' prescribing decisions.Real-time, physician-specific data on prescribing habits are a powerful tool that pharmaceutical sales representatives rely on when visiting a physician's office. A representative can quickly access a breakdown of pharmaceuticals prescribed by any physician on a handheld computer, enabling that representative to deliver a tailored marketing pitch to physicians selected for their current prescribing habits. Within weeks, the ...References1. Kaiser Family Foundation. Trends and Indicators in the Changing Health Care Marketplace. Publication no. 7031. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2006. Accessed at www.kff.org/insurance/7031/print-sec1.cfm on 24 March 2007. Google Scholar2. Chiong W. Industry-to-physician marketing and the cost of prescription drugs. Am J Bioeth. 2003;3:W28-W29. [PMID: 14594480] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. 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Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2002. Accessed at www.kff.org/rxdrugs/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=13965 on 23 March 2007. Google Scholar10. Use of physician and patient prescribing data in the pharmaceutical industry. In: Reports of Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association. Presented at the interim meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. Chicago: American Medical Assoc; December 2004. Accessed at www.ama-assn.org/meetings/public/interim04/bot_reports.pdf on 23 March 2007. Google Scholar11. Maguire P. Prescribing profiles put physicians under the microscope. In: Darves B. Too close for comfort? How some physicians are re-examining their dealings with drug detailers. ACP Observer. July-August 2003:14. Accessed at www.acponline.org/journals/news/jul-aug03/drug.htm#profiles on 3 April 2007. Google Scholar12. Prescription Information to be Kept Confidential. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §318:47-f. Google Scholar13. Herskovits B. Prescribing data: it's a matter of free speech. Pharmaceutical Executive. 2 August 2006. Accessed at www.pharmexec.com/pharmexec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=362117 on 24 March 2007. Google Scholar14. NPA members work for physician prescribing privacy in Maine. Reston, VA: National Physicians Alliance; 2006. Accessed at www.npalliance.org/news/stories/the_npa_campaigns_to_protect_physician_prescribing_privacy/ on 23 March 2007. Google Scholar15. Physician Data Restriction Program. Chicago: American Medical Assoc; 2006. Accessed at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12054.html on 23 March 2007. Google Scholar16. Medical Professionalism Project. Medical professionalism in the new millennium: a physician charter. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:243-6. [PMID: 11827500] LinkGoogle Scholar17. Wazana A. Physicians and the pharmaceutical industry: is a gift ever just a gift? JAMA. 2000;283:373-80. [PMID: 10647801] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar18. Dana J, Loewenstein G. A social science perspective on gifts to physicians from industry. JAMA. 2003;290:252-5. [PMID: 12851281] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.Acknowledgment: The author thanks the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Health & Society Scholars Program for financial support.Disclosures: Dr. Grande is a voluntary member of the Board of Directors of the National Physicians Alliance.Corresponding Author: David Grande, MD, MPA, 3641 Locust Walk, Colonial Penn Center 308, Philadelphia, PA 19104; e-mail, [email protected]upenn.edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPharmaceutical Marketing Research and the Prescribing Physician Jeremy A. Greene Prescriber Profiling Alexander C. Tsai Prescriber Profiling Stephen E. Pratt Prescriber Profiling Stephen M. Kirk Prescriber Profiling Adriane Fugh-Berman Metrics Cited ByAn Investigation of Consumer and Doctor Regulatory Beliefs and Regulatory Knowledge about Pharmaceutical Drug PromotionsClosing the Marketing Strategy-Tactics Gap: An Institutional Theory Analysis of Pharmaceutical Value ChainRestrictions on the Use of Prescribing Data for Drug PromotionThe Promotion and Marketing of OxyContin: Commercial Triumph, Public Health TragedyPhysician-Industry Interactions: There is No Such Thing as a Free LunchPrescriber ProfilingAlexander C. Tsai, MD, PhDPrescriber ProfilingStephen E. Pratt, MDPrescriber ProfilingStephen M. Kirk, MDPrescriber ProfilingAdriane Fugh-Berman, MD 15 May 2007Volume 146, Issue 10Page: 751-752KeywordsDatabasesDrugsHabitsHealth careHealth information technologyLegislationMotivationPatient advocacyPrevention, policy, and public healthResearch reporting guidelines ePublished: 15 May 2007 Issue Published: 15 May 2007 CopyrightCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...