A Doctor’s
Perspective on Detailing
By: Robert Cykiert, MD
As a doctor and a professor with over 20
years in practice, I see thousands of patients, give hundreds
of lectures and I need to manage my time carefully. Besides
patients and students, I’ve always struggled with
my relationship to Detailers representing drug companies
who keep trying to personally meet with me or phone me,
especially when I am busy.
While Detailers provide a valuable
service with drug information and samples, the time I need
to devote to them can be overbearing at times, especially
since I know there are better ways for drug companies to accomplish
the same or better result. I know doctors are the most important
customers for drug companies, and I do need the information
and drug samples to treat my patients, but I wish drug companies
would start taking advantage of new technology and new ways
of thinking to deal with Detailing. I believe there is great
potential to save my time and reduce costs for drug companies
(ultimately health care costs).
Instead of meeting with me to
give me samples and drug information, why not provide a service
over the Web to accomplish the same thing. Saves on trips
by Detailers, saves my time, and most important, I can deal
with the Web when I have time, not when the Detailer walks
in or calls while my reception room is full.
To get drug information, I don’t
need fancy brochures and papers that I’ve asked my receptionist
to discard anyway. I don’t have time to review these
marketing materials and review ads in periodicals, and my
office is filled with tons of paper work already that is of
higher priority. I do need drug information, and I am not
sure all those marketing materials have what I need, but I
would prefer having a search engine on the drug company’s
site so I can look up what I need to know, when I need to
know it.
The Detailers serve another purpose.
They ask questions and they try to better understand my needs—all
noble gestures by drug companies who try to sell me on their
brand. However, would it not be easier to send me surveys
I can fill out when I have time? I can understand no one likes
to fill out surveys, and I certainly don’t do it most
times, however, I would not mind filling them out (especially
if they offered to pay for my time) if they were more focused
on my needs, especially if the results of the survey would
be used to improve the Detailing services on-line and save
me time. By filling out surveys, I would save on the time
the Detailers need to spend with me, and Detailers can get
more information faster and at lower cost than if they tried
to see me personally.
One of the services Detailers
offer is bringing samples of drugs. That is a worthwhile service,
but it would save me time if my secretary could order them
on-line. There is just no need for a representative to bring
them to my office and disrupt my schedule. If I have questions
about the drugs, I’d rather send email to my Detailer
at my own leisure than have to meet or discuss the issue by
phone, at least most times.
The biggest obstacle to my vision
of how Detailers should deal with me is probably the drug
companies’ belief that shaking hands, face-to-face meetings
and socializations drive sales. There is no denying that face-to-face
meetings and relationship building can influence sales, but
the downside is the high cost for drug companies, and the
high cost for my time leaves me little choice but to deal
curtly with many of the Detailers. I deal curtly with them
because even though I need them, I wish they would be more
mindful of my time, especially if they upgraded their technology
and mindset.
I spend an ever-increasing amount
of time with email and the Web, yet I rarely get any email
from Detailers. If I could, I’d make a deal with them
to communicate with me over email rather than visit my office
or call me. They would do better getting to me via email than
by phone, since I personally read my email, while my phone
is answered by my receptionist. I would also be more responsive
with email because I process my emails at my leisure rather
than when I am rushed dealing with patients.
The drug companies are slowly
beginning to experiment with new technologies and new relationships,
and it is not an easy thing to change paradigms after so many
years of Detailing. However, change they must because my time
is becoming more valuable to me daily, and cost pressure on
drug companies is growing. Just as Amazon proved you don’t
need a book store to sell books, and e-Bay proved virtual
auctions can be much larger than real ones, so will the drug
companies eventually discover that virtual Detailing (also
called e-Detailing) can be more powerful than Detailing, not
just for the drug companies, but also for their best customers.
I don’t anticipate
seeing these changes over night. Drug companies, like giant
ships, can’t turn on a dime. However, the new experiments
I am observing drug companies starting to invest in with email
and the Web make me hopeful that in the near future I can
spend more time with patients (and my family), less on paper
marketing materials, and more on getting the information I
need rather than the information the drug companies think
I want.
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