Navigating the e-Detailing Maze

Abstract

e-Detailing is currently under consideration by many pharmaceutical companies as a way to maximise salesforce time, cut costs and increase physician prescribing. e-Detailing is not a single entity but can take many different forms: from remote live discussion with a sales rep to a purely scripted interaction with a website or an Interactive Voice Response phone line. Most e-Detailing models have been tried in the USA and only some models, such as some forms of Scripted e-Detailing, have been shown by independent studies to increase prescribing compared with traditional detailing methods. e-Detail models from the USA are starting to become available in Europe where there are tighter regulations concerning physician promotions that make it harder to create physician incentive to participate in e-Detailing. Also, each e-Detail model differs in its popularity and applicability to specific physicians, for example, GPs are more easily accessed than specialists in Scripted e-Details. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies need to consider their e-Detailing options carefully to choose a model that will be right for their particular product, target physician group and country. Many pharmaceutical companies are simply starting a pilot with one or two models, but this will not necessarily be sufficient to reach a conclusion for all cases.