Amrita Acharya
The pharmaceutical Market (PM) is highly regulated. The pharma companies cannot use print or electronic media to advertise their drug which differentiates this industry from other industries. The customers of the pharma companies are the medical professionals, the ultimate decision-makers. They influence the purchasing decision of the patients who are the actual consumers. Prescription is the ultimate decision made by the physician amongst many alternatives available. Therefore, numerous and diverse strategies are constructed by pharmaceutical companies in and around medical professionals to influence their Prescribing Behaviour (PB) and while doing so a great deal of time and money is spent.
The professional characteristics of MR are found to have a prominent and strong influence over the prescribing practice. The product knowledge, scientific knowledge, and MR's knowledge about the industry help in building a good relationship between the MR and the prescriber which helps in creating a positive corporate image in the prescriber's mind and leads to prescription generation. Along the line, sales promotion activities ranging from low-value gifts to high-value gifts, and sponsored conferences are very traditional yet very common promotional efforts by a pharmaceutical company in influencing the PB. Such kind of efforts helps in recalling the brand by the physician among many alternatives available. In the same vein availability of a free drug, and samples helps in accessing the dose and effectiveness of the drug by the prescriber avails in brand recall and brand preferences. Similarly, CME programs are also identified as effective promotional tools that influenced prescribing behaviour.
QoM is considered among the top factors influencing PB. In the same vein substandard medicines are increasing in Nepal and total number of recalled pharmaceutical product is significantly higher among domestic manufacturers. The reasons for recall may be the failure to comply with pharmacopeial standards and failure to meet various laboratory standards. Nonetheless, failure to comply with quality standards relates to a lack of quality in medicines. Nepali pharmaceutical medicines are second alternatives to foreign brands available in the market. However, it is found that most of the domestic manufacturers are in fact certified with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) by World Health Organization.
Doctors are rational decision-makers. The good quality of the medicines having the least side effect is the important factor that is considered by the physician before prescribing. Moreover, doctors are also compelled to prescribe a drug considering patients' capability to afford that brand. Prescribers and retailers are considered the important stakeholders of the industry. Likewise, there is an ethical concern in the relationship between pharmaceutical companies with prescribers and retailers. The rising cost of medical expenditure, personal benefits of the concerned stakeholders, and recall of the medicines can be some of the reasons behind trust issues faced by domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers. Now, pharmaceutical marketing becomes problematic if they influences the physician decision to prescribe the drug which is not of the best interest for the patient.
QoM, the low cost of medicines, and the brand image of the company have a prominent role in PB. This finding is an interesting indication that regardless of personal benefits, prescriptions are also generated for the welfare and benefit of the patients. So, sales promotion and physician prescribing behaviour need not be generalized. Therefore, further study might be needed to investigate the relationship between identified factors and PB with a focus on the Nepali pharmaceutical market.
Author is Graduate Student, pursuing Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration, at Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur, Kajang, Malaysia.
