Letter to Japanese physicians' perceptions of conflicts of interest with pharmaceutical companies: Estimating two different questioning approaches

Abstract

To the Editor, Saito and colleagues reported that 18.9% of Japanese physicians considered information provided by pharmaceutical company medical representatives (MRs) and presentations by physicians at lectures sponsored by pharmaceutical companies as an important source for prescribing drugs. Additionally, younger physicians under 40 years were less likely to consider these information sources and presentations from MRs and pharmaceutical companies as crucial for their prescribing behaviours. 1 We read their study with great interest and appreciate their significant contributions to the ongoing debates on proper physician-industry financial relationships in Japan.However, we have several comments regarding the study findings and methodology.First, the study, conducted in 2019, revealed that only 18.9% of participants directly stated that they considered information and presentations from pharmaceutical companies as a vital source for their prescriptions.