The role of pharmaceutical marketing and other factors in prescribing decisions: The Yemeni experience

BackgroundPrescribing decisions are a complex phenomenon and influenced by many pharmacological and non-pharmacological factors. Little is known about the actual prescribing behaviors of physicians or the factors behind their prescribing decisions.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to explore the factors that influence physicians' prescribing decisions and the role of the marketing activities by pharmaceutical companies in this decision-making process.MethodsA semi-structured interview with the critical incident technique method was used to encourage physicians to describe the particular situations of prescribing for specific newly marketed drugs. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic content analysis with systematic and comprehensive coding was employed to identify categories of physicians' reasons for either prescribing or not of the study drugs.ResultsFactors that influence prescribing of the study drugs (223 critical incidents) were categorized in six major themes. Drug characteristics, the most frequently mentioned by physicians as reasons of prescribe, were implicated in 70 (31.4%) incidents, followed by pharmaceutical company mentioned in 53 (23.8%) incidents, indications, 31 (13.9%) incidents, and patient contexts, 26 (11.7%) incidents. Environmental factors as information and evidence were implicated in 22 (9.9%) incidents, and physician factor, 21 (9.4%) incidents.ConclusionPrescribing is a complex process and physicians integrate different factors. Although physicians make a considerable on patient contexts and treatment outcomes, they still rely on their personal experiences when making prescribing in addition to firms' source of information and firms' marketing activities.