Due to the nature of their work, doctors and pharmacists recommend specific medications to their patients every day. Research conducted on Polish patients shows that a significant majority of patients obtain information about prescription drugs (Rx) primarily from such sources. Recommendations from healthcare professionals are crucial factors, alongside price, that patients consider when purchasing medications at pharmacies.
Endorsing Medications by Doctors and Pharmacists
The inclination to recommend medications is influenced by various factors. It is strongly tied to knowledge and trust in brands available on the market and the attitude healthcare professionals have toward products associated with those brands.
To gather information about the inclination to recommend medications and endorsing specific brands, it is best to rely on medical market research. Such research is conducted on groups of doctors, pharmacists, or medical product users, allowing the acquisition of information, including:
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Perceptions of products and their brands by doctors, pharmacists, and medical personnel.
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Opinions of doctors and pharmacists regarding the effectiveness of medications from different brands.
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Inclinations to recommend a particular medication (including a specific brand) by doctors and pharmacists.
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Criteria and methods of recommending medications.
Depending on the specific research objectives, this scope can be expanded to include additional aspects such as evaluating the packaging of medical products, advertising materials/phrases, medical devices, customer service in pharmacies/patient care in medical facilities, the effectiveness of medical representatives' work, consumer/decision-maker purchasing preferences, brand associations, brand image/awareness, and the effectiveness/efficiency of promotion/distribution channels. Market research plays a crucial role in these areas.
Research Methodology
Medical market research is conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Particularly useful methods include:
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Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) and Electronic Interviews (CAWI), allowing measurements on representative nationwide samples.
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Focus group interviews (FGI) and individual in-depth interviews (IDI), providing an opportunity to understand individual consumer insights.
In addition to the above, the methods used in Medical Market Research typically include opinion research in a proprietary online panel, interviews conducted using mobile devices (CAPI), traditional paper surveys (PAPI), mystery shopper/patient studies, telephone in-depth interviews (TDI), and existing data analysis (Desk Research).
All medical/pharmaceutical market research should adhere to the highest methodological standards, including:
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Appropriate recruitment of doctors/pharmacists or patients/medication users, taking into account the research assumptions.
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Development of a questionnaire/scenario that allows obtaining answers to the research questions.
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Professional statistical analysis of obtained data and substantive interpretation of results.
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Formulation of conclusions and recommendations and presenting them in the form of a comprehensive report/presentation.
The knowledge acquired during research supports both the process of introducing new Rx/OTC medications to the market and the improvement of the sales of already available medications by strengthening the brand, enhancing advertising materials, or addressing factors influencing the recommendation of medications to patients by doctors and pharmacists.
The significant impact on the sales of medical products is not only determined by their effectiveness or the adopted marketing strategy but also by their availability in pharmacies and pharmacy points, as well as the extent to which they are recommended to patients by pharmacists or endorsed by medical professionals.
- Medical environments, more often than other target groups, require expensive research techniques. Due to the specific conditions in which medics work, the organisation of the study tends to be more complicated, the time of data collection is prolonged. In return, we can count on research material of very high quality. In addition - especially pharmaceutical companies - they gain knowledge of how their products are treated in the professional groups they particularly care about - explains Dr Sebastian Musioł - a methodology expert at the Biostat Research and Development Centre.
