Abstract
BackgroundPharmaceutical promotion activities in low and middle-income countries are often neither regulated nor monitored. While Egypt has the highest population and per capita use of medicines in the Arab world, we know very little about pharmaceutical companies promotional activities in the country.AimTo explore and analyze the perceptions of physicians towards promotional and marketing activities of pharmaceutical companies among physicians and pharmacists in Egypt.MethodologyPerspectives of different healthcare system stakeholders were explored through semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted in 2014 in Cairo, Egypt. Interviewees were chosen via purposive sampling and snowball technique. Each interview was recorded and transcribed. Then qualitative, thematic analysis was conducted with the help of NVIVO software.FindingsThe majority of physicians and pharmacists acknowledged exposure to pharmaceutical promotion. It was commonly believed that interaction with the pharmaceutical industry is necessary and both associated risks and benefits were acknowledged. The interviewed physicians considered themselves competent enough to minimize risks and maximize benefits to their prescribing habits. Views diverged on the extent and magnitude of the risks and benefits of pharmaceutical promotion, especially in regard to the influence on patients’ health.ConclusionsPharmaceutical promotion in Egypt is intensely directed at prescribers and dispensers. Physicians, pharmacists and policymakers expressed little skepticism to the influence of promotion towards their individual prescribing. Raising awareness of the pitfalls of pharmaceutical promotion is necessary, especially among the less experienced physicians.
Highlights
Private pharmaceutical companies are expected to maximize their profits; they have an interest in influencing sales of medicines [1], for example by providing medical practitioners with incentives to increase medicine consumption [2].But regulation of pharmaceutical promotion is needed because of the conflict between the profit-oriented pharmaceutical industry's legitimate business goals to maximize returns on investment and patients, health care providers and societal expectations to use medicine in the most rational way[3, 4]
Pharmaceutical promotion in Egypt is intensely directed at prescribers and dispensers
In order to obtain an in-depth understanding of how different healthcare providers work in Cairo, how they are targeted by the pharmaceutical industry and experience such approaches we chose a purposive sampling strategy [18]
Summary
Regulation of pharmaceutical promotion is needed because of the conflict between the profit-oriented pharmaceutical industry's legitimate business goals to maximize returns on investment and patients, health care providers and societal expectations to use medicine in the most rational way[3, 4]. Regulating their efforts to increase profit is challenging especially since pharmaceutical companies are considered relevant for innovation in medicine. While Egypt has the highest population and per capita use of medicines in the Arab world, we know very little about pharmaceutical companies promotional activities in the country
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