Influence of pharmacists expertise on physicians prescription decisions

Purpose: To explore the influence of pharmacist factors on prescription decisions of physicians. Methods: A survey of literature was carried out across online databases and 12 relevant articles were identified. The influence of pharmacist factors on physician prescription decisions was identified in the articles. A conceptual model for investigating pharmacist factors that influence physicians’ prescription decisions was then developed. Results: The main factors identified were pharmacist expertise, pharmacist – physician collaboration, and trust between physician and pharmacist. There was no direct evidence of influence of pharmacist expertise on prescription, but some studies indicated that pharmacist recommendation is in tandem with the prescribing behaviour of physicians. One study reported that pharmacist–physician collaboration positively influenced physicians’ prescribing decision, while others found no relationship between these. Conclusion: Existing literature on the influence of pharmacist factors on prescription behaviour of physicians are limited and debatable. There is no consistency in these studies. Moreover, studies that reported a strong connection between the trustworthiness and pharmacist–physician collaboration in drug prescription lack hard evidence.

Moderating effects of contextual factors on relationship between pharmaceutical marketing strategies and physician prescription decision: A review

Decision–making by physicians on patients’ treatment has received increased research attention. Research on the effect of marketing strategies on prescription behaviour has tended to generate controversial results. While some researchers reported a strong influence, some found only moderate effects, while others find no influence at all. The main objective of this paper is to review the influence of the marketing strategies by pharmaceutical firms and contextual factors on physician attitude to drug prescription. The paper presents comprehensive information on pharmaceutical marketing efforts through exhaustive review of relevant literature, and identifies the moderating effects of contextual factors on physician prescribing decisions. It also presents a crucial conceptual model for explaining the theoretical linkages between marketing strategies of pharmaceutical firms, contextual factors and the decision of the physician regarding drug prescription.