Doctors adopting digital ways to get pharma info, says survey

Doctors are now going digital as a majority of them prefer getting drug information on their fingertips as against a face-to-face interaction with medical representatives (MRs), says a survey.
According to a poll conducted by Curofy, 75 per cent of the surveyed doctors preferred digital interaction with pharma companies instead of a face-to-face to interaction with MRs. The result is in conformance with the fact that more doctors are adopting digital way to cater their professional needs.
Of the total 1,440 doctors who participated in the poll, an astounding 75 per cent (1,080) said they would prefer having drug information available at a convenient time on their fingertips over meeting MRs during OPD hours.

The poll results come at a time when the digital media is revolutionising the way in which medical professionals cater their professional needs.
Earlier, the only way to spread drug launch information or new medical research information was through personal meetings and interactions. A medical representative has to visit a doctor a number of times to make him/her know about the new drug and ongoing research.
Often it happens that the doctor is not able to provide the representative with enough time, leading to wastage of time and money on both the ends. With the information available digitally, it becomes easier for doctors to comprehend the information with ease and at their own comfort level, the survey said.

Rajesh Puri, Director of Institute of Digestive & Hepatobiliary Sciences at Medanta - The Medicity said, "Digital promotion and knowledge sharing is more scientific and educational. The reason being, we get to read the pertinent information easily, at our own comfort level."

MRs have been an integral part of the pharma industry since the very beginning. They help their company in reaching out a product to as many doctors as possible, Puri added.
Their work does not limit to inform doctors about the products, they also inform doctors about the ongoing researches in medicine. Even though it is an enlightening job, many doctors find it unpleasant to have MRs waiting in their lobby in the want of a chance to pounce on them for a meeting, he said.

Rinkesh Shah, who handles Digital Marketing at GSK, said, "Research suggests HCPs (healthcare professionals) today prefer digital not only for medical information services but also patient engagement. This is a tipping point of disruption to turn digital as mainstream for customer service in pharma.