Eighty Percent of Physicians Indicate
Pharmaceutical Samples Key to Their Practice

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Vancouver, BC – November 23, 2006 – A syndicated study examining pharmaceutical sample usage and preferences was released today. The study, prepared by MD Analytics, surveyed family physicians and general practitioners nationally and offers insights into sample use in key therapeutic areas as well as the impact samples have on physician prescribing.

The Ontario government’s Bill 102, the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act, was introduced in April of 2006.  Bill 102 is designed to reshape Ontario’s publicly-funded drug system to get better value for money, enhance the quality of care patients receive and encourage greater collaboration across the drug system. 

Drug sample availability is a major factor when physicians evaluate treatment options, accelerating the time for a patient to receive medication that best works for them. Disease areas where samples are most used to evaluate medication include depression, hypertension, asthma and erectile dysfunctions.

“This report offers important insights into the value samples provide, and the role they play in influencing prescription choices, especially since the majority of samples provided to patients are accompanied by a prescription for the same product.” Tyler Hassman, Managing Partner, MD Analytics.

The study findings provide further understanding regarding:

• the extent to which samples are personally delivered by a pharmaceutical company representative and how this practice is changing

• the frequency with which sample delivery drives physician and representative meetings to exchange information

• the number of sample days considered ideal to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a drug across different drug classes

MD Analytics is Canada’s most innovative healthcare marketing research organization. For more information about the syndicated study and MD Analytics, visit www.mdanalytics.ca/business/2006Sampling.html

Reference:

Peter Nobes, MD Analytics
Toll-free: 1-866-617-0741
Cell: 778-888-1225
pnobes@mdanalytics.ca