Given its crucial role in medicine and healthcare and the active and passive involvement of many actors, Scientific Information on Drugs (ISF) has always been the object of careful observation, analysis, measures and discussions. An interdisciplinary Working Group has elaborated and published a programmatic document which contains some conceptual and practical definitions, which also identifies the opportunity to set up an autonomous and independent Observatory which is capable of producing a continuous flow of data through the collection and the monitoring of the ISF.
The pilot study presented here, conducted on a sample of General Practitioners (GPs), had a dual purpose: to document the quantity, type and opinions of doctors on the FSI provided by "informants", and to verify the feasibility of such Permanent observatory.
< Over 1,300 GPs were contacted to carry out 310 face-to-face interviews, lasting an average of 25 minutes. From the analysis of the data it emerges that on average 11 informants are received weekly by each doctor, and that in each visit an average of 5 drugs, or rather commercial brands, are presented, two of which in more detail and three only "remembered"; given that notoriously the time granted to each informant is rather limited, it can be seen that typically advertising communication techniques are predominant, rather than the purpose of transferring information aimed at facilitating the best and most appropriate use of the drug presented.
Furthermore, about a third of the doctors interviewed received information through documents extracted from internet sites: this allows the individual scientific rep to provide more recent data and to elaborate personalized information, but with material that is difficult to "deposit" and approved at the AIFA level. Finally, as regards the quality of the FSI perceived by the doctor, of the three parameters monitored - completeness, usefulness/usability, credibility - the latter is the one in which the lowest score was expressed. In conclusion, the investigation conducted, already through the first set of data described in this article, demonstrates how it is possible to monitor various qualitative-quantitative parameters of the ISF, and to draw from them some preliminary indications that can be better verified in subsequent more detailed analyses. detailed and in more extensive investigations.
The pilot study presented here, conducted on a sample of General Practitioners (GPs), had a dual purpose: to document the quantity, type and opinions of doctors on the FSI provided by "informants", and to verify the feasibility of such Permanent observatory.
< Over 1,300 GPs were contacted to carry out 310 face-to-face interviews, lasting an average of 25 minutes. From the analysis of the data it emerges that on average 11 informants are received weekly by each doctor, and that in each visit an average of 5 drugs, or rather commercial brands, are presented, two of which in more detail and three only "remembered"; given that notoriously the time granted to each informant is rather limited, it can be seen that typically advertising communication techniques are predominant, rather than the purpose of transferring information aimed at facilitating the best and most appropriate use of the drug presented.
Furthermore, about a third of the doctors interviewed received information through documents extracted from internet sites: this allows the individual scientific rep to provide more recent data and to elaborate personalized information, but with material that is difficult to "deposit" and approved at the AIFA level. Finally, as regards the quality of the FSI perceived by the doctor, of the three parameters monitored - completeness, usefulness/usability, credibility - the latter is the one in which the lowest score was expressed. In conclusion, the investigation conducted, already through the first set of data described in this article, demonstrates how it is possible to monitor various qualitative-quantitative parameters of the ISF, and to draw from them some preliminary indications that can be better verified in subsequent more detailed analyses. detailed and in more extensive investigations.
Authors:
Giampaolo Velo(1), Maurizio Bassi(2), Giovanni Apolone(3), Marta Rossi(3), Norina Buscone(4), Vilma Scarpino(5), Paolo Rizzini(2)
(1) Medical Pharmacology, Reference Center for Education and Communication within the WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring, University and Hospital of Verona
(2) Smith Kline Foundation, Milan
(3) Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological Research, Milan
(4) Carat Italy, Milan
(5) Doxa Italy, Milan
(1) Medical Pharmacology, Reference Center for Education and Communication within the WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring, University and Hospital of Verona
(2) Smith Kline Foundation, Milan
(3) Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological Research, Milan
(4) Carat Italy, Milan
(5) Doxa Italy, Milan
From www.economiasanitaria.it
