THE ACCURACY OF DRUG INFORMATION FROM PHARMACEUTICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVES

Objective.-To provide quantitative data about the accuracy of the info rmation about drugs presented to physicians by pharmaceutical sales re presentatives. Design.-One hundred six statements about drugs made dur ing 13 presentations by pharmaceutical representatives were analyzed f or accuracy. Statements were rated inaccurate if they contradicted the 1993 Physicians' Desk Reference or material quoted or handed out by t he sales representative. Setting.-University teaching hospital. Result s.-Twelve (11%) of 106 statements about drugs were inaccurate. All 12 inaccurate statements were favorable toward the promoted drug, whereas 39 (49%) of 79 accurate statements were favorable (P=.005). None of 1 5 statements about competitors' drugs were favorable, but all were acc urate, significantly (P<.001) differing from statements about promoted drugs. In a survey of 27 physicians who attended these presentations, seven (26%) recalled any false statement made by a pharmaceutical rep resentative, and 10 (37%) said information from the representatives in fluenced the way they prescribed drugs. Conclusions.-Eleven percent of the statements made by pharmaceutical representatives about drugs con tradicted information readily available to them. Physicians generally failed to recognize the inaccurate statements.