INFLUENCES ON THE ADOPTION OF NEW PHARMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGIES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE FENTANYL PATCH

ABSTRACT

Little documentation exists in the scientific literature on the introduction of new technologies in health care, especially for pharmaceuticals. Few adequate databases are available to be mined, and the methodologies are often outmoded. Thus, the past literature may be incomplete or misleading since important changes have occurred in the pharmaceutical industry and in its marketing strategies over the last decade. These changes include the advent of direct-to-consumer advertising, the lessening of reliance upon professional journal ads, the expansion of the ranks of manufacturers' detail representatives, and use of “value-added” inducements to large purchasing groups.

A study utilizing the triplicate prescription control program data was analyzed with the Bass model, from the field of marketing, to examine as an example of a new pharmaceutical diffusion, the fentanyl patch. Estimates of the relative importance of the interpersonal influence and the external influences (e.g., mass media advertisement) on prescribing indicated that, unlike traditional diffusion models that emphasized interpersonal influence, the diffusion of the fentanyl patch in the 1990 s was predominately dependent upon external influence. This approach is useful for firms specifically tailoring marketing strategies to unreached markets. Additionally, from a public health perspective, it may be possible for policy makers to use this methodological approach to identify sub-optimal diffusion and develop interventions accordingly to promote fuller access to care for those in need.