Evaluation of Wyeth Medical Communications Written Responses and the Impact on Prescribing

Abstract

Objective: Wyeth's Global Medical Communications Department provides written standard responses to unsolicited requests for medical information related to Wyeth Products. A survey was conducted to evaluate the satisfaction of healthcare professionals with the written information provided and to assess the impact of satisfaction with the information on prescribing behavior. Methods: A business reply card containing seven qualitative questions with all standard response letters was mailed from September 1, 2000 to November 30, 2000. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between physician satisfaction and prescribing behavior based on data collected through October 31, 2000. Results: Ninety-four percent of responders were satisfied with Wyeth standard response letters. The relationship between physician satisfaction and increased prescribing was positively correlated (ρ = 0.314, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Wyeth customers overall were satisfied with standard response letters provided by Wyeth's Global Medical Communications Department and the information provided had a positive impact on prescribing of Wyeth products.

A Theory on the Relativity of Factors Impacting the Utilization of Medical Information Services From the Pharmaceutical Industry

“…2 In fact, several studies have demonstrated that, in general, HCPs are satisfied with the information they received from industry-based MI departments (Pfizer Inc, unpublished data). 3 -6 Given the extensive and high-quality information that MI departments from pharmaceutical companies have, why is this resource not used more frequently among HCPs? What are the factors that determine utilization of a medical information resource?…”

“…There was an interesting study published in 2003 by Santhouse and Albano 3 that evaluated the impact on prescribing after receipt of medical information from an industry-based MI department. In this study, more than 800 HCPs (including over 400 physicians) responded to a survey that included questions related to the quality of information and the impact of the information on their prescribing decisions.…”

Survey of Health Care Practitioners’ Preferences for Medical Information: Collective Insights for Impacting Patient Care

“…To achieve this, many companies have conducted benchmarking surveys to solicit unbiased and relevant feedback on their overall MI services from customers. 1 -8 These survey results provided valuable information on the needs of the customers and may help companies assess their internal operational processes and shape strategic directions. Though there have been multiple surveys conducted to assess areas of improvement across several companies, specific surveys to gain insights on the utility of MI services across the pharmaceutical industry, as well as understanding if the information provided the evidence necessary to prescribe with confidence have not been addressed.…”

Assessing Medical Information Needs via an Internet-Based Survey

“…They provide external validation of quality and identify areas for improvement. Surveys can be used as a tool for evaluating the services of Medical Communications Departments (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). When Medical Communications Departments utilize surveys, they are typically distributed to requesters of medical information such as health care providers and sales representatives.…”

“…When Medical Communications Departments utilize surveys, they are typically distributed to requesters of medical information such as health care providers and sales representatives. Studies have been published describing experiences and findings of customer surveys (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). The authors of these studies identified areas for improvement of departmental deliverables based on their findings.…”