Factors Affecting the Choice of Drug Brands by Doctors

Factors Affecting the Choice of Drug dirts by DoctorsThis fashion for proposal explores the factors affecting the choice of branded drugs in India. Indian pharmaceutic trade is unique due the presence of more than 60000 branded generic wine drugs. The doctors are spoilt for choice of brand. Hence it is important to find come on the factors which affect the prescription of drugs to help both doctors and pharmaceutic companies serve patients better. literary productions REVIEWINDUSTRY OVERVIEWPharmaceutical industry in India is now the triplet largest and 14th largest in the world in terms of volume and value, respectively. The add together turnover of Indias pharmaceuticals industry for year ending September 2009 was US$ 21.04 meg with the domestic market contri excepting US$ 12.26 billion. 1Due to the expansion of nerve and higher middle income groups in the country, a potential US $ 8 billion market of high cost drugs is expected to emerge by 2015. It is also expected tha t domestic pharmaceutical market will bear on US $ 20 billion by 2015. This will make India a lucrative destination for various pharmaceutical giants. Another factor aiding this campaign of multinational companies to India is the evolution of low cost drug policy and stagnancy of western market. The pharmaceutical industry has gr admit at the rate of 12 per cent (CAGR) for the past few years, but this will accelerate soon. 1.India is among the worlds preeminent five Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients producers. Indian firms produce about 60,000 generic brands servicing 60 therapeutic categories. This is a unique characteristic of Indian pharmaceutical market as compared to the foreign markets where either Researched Brands or generic drugs are prescribed. These different brand names wee a dilemma for the medical professionals while writing prescriptions.MARKETING BY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIESThe popular process of selling involving the following steps is also applicable in case o f generating required prescriptions.UnawarenessAwarenessInterest Evaluation run Prescriptions Repeat PrescriptionsThe most cost effective ways of generating interest among doctors and consumers for hot drugs are advertisements and public similes techniques. 2 While getting repeat prescriptions requires genesis of involvement. Hence majority of spending goes towards direct-to-doctor (DTD) promotion. Among advertising, detailing (visits from gross r sluiceue representatives), direct mail, sales promotion, publicity and public relations, detailing contributes the most for doctors as well as a strategy for pharmaceutical companies. It is the only technique which offer be use for all drugs according to Indian FDA regulations. Only Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs base be advertised publicly in the Indian market.Key findings of question show a high level of interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession.86% receive medical samples frequently39% receive desk g ifts19% receive invitations to congresses12% receive free lunchesone-half of the doctors believe that receiving benefits from the pharmaceutical industry has an make for on medical prescription, but only 27% accept this as influential in their own prescriptions. 3GIFTSGiving gifts (such as pens to expensive foreign holidays) to doctors is one of the most leafy vegetable techniques used by pharmaceutical companies. These companies are working on relation of reciprocity technique. In country like India, where a lot of sizeableness is feed inn to relationships, doctors on receiving gifts feel obliged to return the favour by prescribing the respective brands.SALES REPRESENTATIVESThe important job of Pharmaceutical sales representatives is to bring over the doctors to prescribe their products. Along with that they also deal with the channel partners like chemists, wholesalers and even hospitals and other medical service agencies. Hence they choose the potential to influence the bu ying of drugs at every stage.During their visits to the doctors they can customize the product crack based on the doctor profile and the types of patients that consult the doctor. They build relationships with the doctors and supplement it to extract maximum sales from that contact. They use all the selling skills to move the doctors about the superiority of their products. They also act as the channel for the exchanging information. legion(predicate) times this involves controlling the information that reaches the doctors as these representatives have become the main source of information about new research and products that hit the market every day. They increase the visibility of their products by continuously reminding and distribution of the gifts cerebrate to their products. All these activities influence the prescription habits of the doctors.One of the survey results showed that84% of GPs considered pharmaceutical representatives as an efficient source of information31% said they office change their therapeutic prescribing following visits from representatives 4ADVERTISINGDirect advertisement by dint of mass media is restricted to OTC drugs. These are directed to end consumers i.e. the patients as well as channel partners. These can also be used to impart information without use of particular brand names and to create awareness for public benefit.Many times advertisements become counterproductive by encroaching into the doctors space of providing treatment pick outions creating discontent among doctors.PRICESThe concern is that pharmaceutical companies selling has led to woeful people paying for branded products that cost a lot more than the much cheaper generic but have petty(a) or no additional medical value. The poor patients cannot afford the master researched brands. Hence the many branded generic drugs fill in the unfilled left by these pharmaceutical companies. The decision is left to the doctors whether the patient can afford the m edication or to find out the one which is affordable. real patients perceive the effect of costlier drug to be more than the cheaper one. The doctors need to look into the psyche of the patient before deciding which drug to recommend.BRANDING majority of the doctors use brand names except in hospital mountain where the brand is decided by pharmacy. There are various factors that go by to prescription of a branded drug than a generic drug.Brand names are shorter and easier to remember thus get a gustatory modality over generic drugs in a prescription. E.g. On given a choice of S-3-aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid (36 letters) or Lyrica (6 letters), it is most in all likelihood that doctors will opt for the latter being less complicated. 5Another common argument for prescribing a brand name is that it avoids patient confusion, as patients are most likely to use brand names for identifying drugs and usually have a poor knowledge of corresponding generic names. 6Other issues such a s the calibre and bioequivalence of generic substitutes are often mentioned. Availability, Sampling, Packaging, Continued Medical Education syllabus and free disease detection camps are the factors that are to be evaluated upon. inquiry METHODOLOGYOBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYTo study the factors affecting the decision of doctors while prescribing a productTo recommend appropriate marketing strategies to Pharmaceutical companies as per customer needsTo explore customer (physicians) needs wants from a pharmaceutical phonerTIME FRAMEThe research shall be completed in 8 months time frame (Design and Sampling 2 months, Data Collection 4 months, Data Analysis and Reporting 2 months)SCOPE OF THE STUDY excogitate is limited to doctors in major cities of India creditS OF DATAPRIMARY SOURCEThe tec has to collect data through mail or telephonic discourse by getting questionnaire filled up from elect doctorsSECONDARY SOURCEThe researcher has to refer to various Pharmaceutical and Marketing J ournals, Magazines, Reports websitesSAMPLE surface1000 Physicians have been chosen from across major cities in India try out METHODRandom purposeful Sampling Method20 Cities have been randomly selected50 Physicians have been randomly selected from each cityCities chosen areDelhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Pune, Chandigarh, Patna, Guwahati, Bhopal, Itanagar, Raipur, Ranchi, Panaji, Jaipur, BhubaneswarTOOL OF ANALYSISData collected from different sources has to be tabulated.Percentage and Average method has been applied to analyze data.LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCHThe hear size chosen may not be enough to give a true representation of the total population.The research only encompasses metros and A-Tier cities.