E-detailing: information technology applied to pharmaceutical detailing

Abstract

Background: E-detailing can be best described as the use of information technology in the field of pharmaceutical detailing. It is becoming highly popular among pharmaceutical companies because it maximizes the time of the sales force, cuts down the cost of detailing and increases physician prescribing. Thus, the application of information technology is proving to be beneficial to both physicians and pharmaceutical companies. When e-detailing was introduced in 1996, it was limited to the US; however, numerous other countries soon adopted this novel approach to detailing and now it is popular in many developed nations. Objective: The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the rapid growth of e-detailing in the field of pharmaceutical marketing. Methods: A review of e-detailing literature was conducted in addition to personal conversations with physicians. Results/conclusion: E-detailing has the potential to reduce marketing costs, increase accessibility to physicians and offer many of the advantages of face-to-face detailing. E-detailing is gaining acceptance among physicians because they can access the information of a pharmaceutical product at their own time and convenience. However, the drug safety aspect of e-detailing has not been examined and e-detailing remains a supplement to traditional detailing and is not yet a replacement to it.

Keywords::

• direct to consumer marketing
• e-detailing
• information technology
• patient safety
• pharmaceutical company
• physician

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