Medical residents need training to interact with pharmaceutical representatives

[Guest guest]

How NOT to interact would be more appropriate

 

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/?newsid=7633

 

 

Medical residents need training to interact with pharmaceutical representatives

25 Apr 2004

 

 

 

Medical residents need to learn that there's " no free lunch " when it comes to

their interactions with drug company representatives, say researchers from Wake

Forest University Baptist Medical Center in the current issue of Academic

Medicine.

 

The researchers found a compelling need for medical residency training programs

to include information about drug company marketing techniques and how physician

interactions with sales representatives can affect what medications they

prescribe.

 

" Pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars on marketing with the goal

of changing doctors' behaviors – and there's good data that shows it works, "

said Raquel Watkins, M.D., lead researcher and assistant professor of internal

medicine. " To be informed decision-makers, physicians need to be aware of this

potential conflict of interest. "

 

Watkins and colleagues conducted surveys about the need for resident training on

these issues and developed a six-hour curriculum for internal medicine residents

at Wake Forest Baptist.

 

Through a review of published manuscripts in this field, the researchers found

that only 25 percent of internal medicine residency programs in the United

States have formal instruction on how to interact with drug company sales

representatives. The researchers conducted a survey of 200 internal medicine

faculty members and residents that found low levels of knowledge about drug

company marketing techniques and professional guidelines on interacting with

sales representatives.

 

For example, the number of residents who were familiar with statements from

professional organizations and research on physician-pharmaceutical industry

interactions ranged from only 1 percent to 9 percent. The 88 residents surveyed

had trained at 46 different medical schools, suggesting that medical schools

should consider incorporating a similar curriculum, said Watkins.

 

Previous research has shown that physician prescribing patterns are influenced

by interactions with drug company representatives. In a study reported in the

Journal of General Internal Medicine in 2000, for example, 90 percent of

physicians said they would dispense a drug sample for treating hypertension that

differed from their preferred drug choice.

 

Watkins and colleagues developed a six-hour curriculum designed to teach

internal medicine residents about the ethics of their interactions with drug

company representatives and about the potential for their prescribing patterns

to be influenced.

 

The training included videotaped interviews with patients about how they are

affected by drug costs and their thoughts on gifts from drug companies to

doctors. Residents also learned about drug company marketing strategies and how

to critically interpret promotional materials. They also reviewed statements

from professional organizations about the interactions between physicians and

drug company representatives.

 

Before the pilot unit was implemented, residents took a test to measure their

knowledge about how patients perceive relationships between physicians and drug

company representatives, the ethical issues surrounding the relationships, and

the level of marketing by the pharmaceutical industry. The residents had a mean

score of 33 percent. On the same test after the pilot unit, the mean score was

86 percent.

 

" Our research shows a compelling need for innovative approaches to provide

residents the skills, knowledge and attitudes to interact appropriately with

pharmaceutical representatives, " said Watkins.

 

Watkins' co-researcher was James Kimberly Jr., M.D., an assistant professor of

internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist.

 

Contacts: Karen Richardson, krchrdsn; Shannon Koontz,

shkoontz; at 336-716-4587.

 

About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an

academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake

Forest University School of Medicine. It is licensed to operate 1,282 acute

care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently

ranked as one of " America's Best Hospitals " by U.S. News & World Report.

 

Contact: Karen Richardson or Bob Conn

krchrdsn

336-716-4587

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

 

 

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