Influence of free drug samples on prescribing by physicians: A cross sectional survey.

Free drug samples are distributed among doctors as a promotional tool. We investigated the effects of dispensing samples on prescriptions by the doctors and their opinion about samples through a cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire was distributed among the doctors in the Department of Medicine, Nishtar Hospital Multan. It contained drug choices for two hypothetical scenarios, options and reasons for using free samples and doctors' views about them. Response rate remained 83% (166/198). In scenario 1 (rheumatoid arthritis), 100 % and in scenario 2 (acid peptic disease), 13% of sample users dispensed against their preference while in both cases 78 % prescribed the same brand afterwards. Trainees used samples more frequently in both vignettes (p value 0.24 and 0.001 respectively). Mainly, samples were used as a cost-effective measure and were considered a source of medication for poor, significantly. (p value 0.007). But in this process, physicians ignored their first choice and inadvertently increased the total expenditure.