A quantitative insight of the interactions of prescribers with pharmaceutical organization's representatives in clinical settings of Karachi.

The study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the prescribers' approach of interaction with medical representatives for drug promotion. An explanatory, cross-sectional design was used to evaluate prescribers' interactions with the medical sales representatives (MSRs) through an anonymous, self-filled questionnaire from June to December 2017. Data presented as means±SEM or as percentages and statistically analyzed by one way ANOVA, using significance level of 0.05. : A response rate of 82.8% was achieved. More than 70% agreed that knowledge obtained from MSRs is reliable and useful. A large proportion of respondents acknowledged that MSRs are a key link between pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals, and their interactions are beneficial as MSRs perform an important teaching function. More than 45% agreed that gifts are influential; however, physicians cannot be compromised with very expensive gifts. The majority of the respondents (76%) considered that promotional items are ethically appropriate; however, 66.21% thought that promotional items influence the practice of prescribing. More than half (52.18%) deemed a promotional material more reliable than a printed advertisement. More than 80% of the respondents opined that medication samples are considered appropriate; however, they should only be given to those patients who cannot financially afford them. Around 69% thought that company-sponsored meetings promote their own drugs under the disguise of CME programs. The present study emphasizes the importance of employing scientifically sound prescribing decision by prescribers in their day to day practice without being influenced by pharmaceutical company's promotional activities. There is a need for restricting unprincipled practices by the concerned regulatory authorities to evade preventable harm to the patient's well-being.