What Is Really Happening Out in the Marketplace?
When it comes to data on which major decisions are made, the pharmaceutical industry can be a funny place indeed. In many ways, we are consistent with the saying that “Things that are important are usually difficult to measure, while things that are easy to measure are usually not important.” Nonetheless, a growing number of databases has populated the landscape, and decision makers insist on getting their numbers as quickly as possible.
More specifically, many of the most important budget decisions made in the pharmaceutical industry pertain to the size and allocation of promotional spends aimed at physicians. Moreover, many of these decisions are based on audits and/or self reports from pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) about the number, length and nature of their interactions with physicians. That having been said, a moral hazard clearly exists here, with PSRs wanting to appear as busy, productive and impactful as possible.
Additionally, many of the sales managers in the home office are former PSRs themselves, and thus are biased toward viewing what is happening in the field today as paralleling what they were able to do 20 years ago. They also have the moral hazard of wanting to believe that their carefully selected, carefully trained and well-compensated sales force is effectively representing their products. Megabucks are spent in this promotional channel every year... |
