Visits by pharmaceutical representatives to a Family Doctor in the Faro Family Health Center

Abstract

Introduction: As the main connection link between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical doctors, the pharmaceutical representatives (PRs) assume an important role in spreading information concerning drugs. Aim: To characterize the visit of the PRs in a primary care practice. Study type: descriptive and cross-sectional. Setting: Estói Practice, Faro Health Center. Methodology: A daily register of all the PRs visits was taken in a primary care practice during the year of 2003, using the doctors perspective. The therapeutical groups had been classified in agreement with the Portuguese formulary Prontuário Terapêutico. Results: During the period in analysis, 70.7% (n=285) of the PRs had appeared and 29.3% (n=118) didnt show up to their appointments. The average time of each visit was 7,7 minutes. An average of, 3,3 drugs per visit were presented. These were included in the following main therapeutical groups: Cardiovascular System (29.3%); Central Nervous System (15.6%) and Anti-infective Drugs (12.2%). PRs delivered 1,2 promotional paperbacks for each visit, 1 medical journal article for each 4,9 visits, 1 medical book for each 13,0 visits and 1 sample for each 16 presented drugs. The samples given can be mostly classified into the following therapeutical groups: Cardiovascular System (23.3%); Musculoskeletal System (16.7%) and Drugs used in the treatment of skin infections (16.7%). Conclusions: There seems to be a free interchange of marketing information from PRs of laboratories from the same pharmaceutical group: more than 1 in each 4 PRs did not keep a booked appointment; more than 50% of the presented drugs belonged to the following therapeutical groups: Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System and Anti-infectious Drugs; From the material left by the PRs, the most frequent are promotional paperbacks of drugs.