Pharmaceutical Targeting: Dynamics of Doctor’s Innovative Tendency and The Degree of Doctor-Patient Relationship

Abstract

The pharmaceutical firm’s detailing effort of a new drug plays an important role but the pharmaceutical salespeople often find hard time achieving what they initially planned to deliver. Hence, they will need to target their messages to the right group of physicians to perform an efficient detailing. Controlling for other factors, physician’s latent innovative tendency in drug prescription and the unobserved degree of doctor-patient relationship would be important considerations. An econometric model is set up to make inference about the doctor’s innovative tendency and the degree of doctor-patient relationship. Using a national survey about the physicians’ profile, their past treatments and the prescription intentions of a new drug, such model is estimated. The study further discusses managerial implications about how the firm can use the estimated values of doctor’s latent innovative tendency and the unobserved degree of doctor-patient relationship for their detailing effort.