Drug sampling in dermatology

Drug sampling in dermatology

Reid E E; Alikhan A; Brodell R T

Clinics in Dermatology

2012

2012-03

The use of drug samples in a dermatology clinic is controversial. Drug samples are associated with influencing physician prescribing patterns often toward costlier drugs, increasing health care costs, increasing waste, inducing potential conflicts of interest, and decreasing the quality of patient education. On the other hand, they have the potential to help those in financial need, to improve adherence and convenience, and to expose patients to better drugs. Although some academic centers have banned drug samples altogether, many academic and private practices continue to distribute drug samples. Given the controversy of the topic, physicians who wish to distribute drug samples must do so in an ethical manner. We believe, when handled properly, drug sampling can be used in an ethical manner. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

biomedical industry; company representatives; conflict-of-interest; Dermatology; educational intervention; medical-students exposure; national-survey; pharmaceutical sales representatives; physician-industry relations; prescribing behavior; residency programs

Journal Article

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

192-201

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