Abstract
BackgroundPrescription drugs constitute the primary source of revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. Most pharmaceutical companies commit a great deal of time and money to market in hopes of convincing physicians about their products. The objective of this study is to assess perceived influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies on physicians’ prescribing behaviors in hospitals, Dessie, Ethiopia.MethodsMixed methods sequential explanatory design was employed in two public and three private hospitals. A cross-sectional study design was employed by including (136) physicians working in public and private hospitals. Percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple linear regressions were computed using Statistical Package for Social Science. In the second phase, the phenomenological design was employed to fully explore in-depth information. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants and 14 in-depth interviews were conducted by the principal investigator. Content analysis was performed using Nvivo 11 plus and interpretation by narrative strategies.ResultsThe overall perceived influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies in physicians’ prescribing behavior was 55.9%. The influence of promotion, product, place and price strategy perceived by physicians in their prescribing behavior was 83 (61%), 71(52.2%), 71 (52.2%), 80 (58.8%) respectively. There was a statistically significant difference among marketing mix strategies (β = 0.08, p = < 0.001). Determinants on the influence of physicians’ prescribing behavior were specialty (p = 0.01) and working areas (p = 0.04). The qualitative design also generates additional insights into the influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies on physician prescribing behavior.ConclusionsMore than half of physicians perceived that pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies influence their prescribing behavior. The qualitative design also revealed that pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies influenced physicians prescribing behavior. Strengthening the regulation and maintaining ethical practice would help to rationalize the physicians’ prescribing practice.
Highlights
Prescription drugs constitute the primary source of revenue for the pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical marketing mix first introduced by Borden in 1964 with the basic elements are the product, price, place, and promotion [2]. 4Ps are linked to each other to generate a prescription order by physicians and makes the product reaches to the consumers [3] this creates for a firm to get the desired level of sales in the target market [4]
The present study revealed that lower influence of physicians’ prescribing behavior as compared to the study conducted Addis Ababa; which stated that 44.2, 69.7, and 75.4% of physicians participating in company-sponsored Continual medical education (CME), frequency of visits of medical representatives (MRs), and the information from MRs was influenced their prescribing behavior respectively [25]
Summary
Prescription drugs constitute the primary source of revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. Most pharmaceutical companies commit a great deal of time and money to market in hopes of convincing physicians about their products. Marketing prescription medicines constitute the primary source of revenue/profits for the pharmaceutical company [5]. Pharmaceutical companies commonly employ a wide range of marketing strategies to increase their drug sales [6, 7]. Eighty four percent of pharmaceutical marketing efforts are directed toward physicians because from the manufacturer’s point of view, physicians are the gatekeepers or decision-makers to drug sales [8]. Most pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor companies commit a great deal of time and money to market in hopes of convincing physicians about their products [9]
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