The future of the pharmaceutical and GP engagement model 

As many GPs are no longer seeing pharma reps there is a growing demand for pharma companies to be forward-thinking and to look to innovative digital communication solutions, reveals a new industry white paper.   

The evolving commercial landscape provides the imperative for a new way of doing business. For pharma companies, this means recognising that GPs are time poor, and whilst choosing not to see drug reps, are raising their digital interactions with pharma. 

Half of GPs are choosing not to see drug reps. This leading to questions over what the future of pharma interactions look like, reveals a new industry white paper.

A series of surveys conducted by independent medical publisher Australian Doctor Group (ADG) shows more than half (54%) say they are too busy to see them, 53% believe they aren’t an objective source of information and 35% prefer to get their information from other places.

The decline in GP engagement is not for lack of trying on pharma’s part – with more than 40% of GP responders reporting that reps attempt to see them or speak to them in person every week.

The surveys’ findings are published for the first time in ADG’s The future of the pharmaceutical and GP engagement model white paper, which warns that the situation is set to worsen with rising GP workloads and a shift to sourcing clinical information online.

Latest Department of Health figures cited in the paper reveal Australian GPs are delivering 18% more services a year than they did a decade ago – leaving them increasingly time poor.

Meanwhile, qualitative research commissioned by ADG shows GPs are looking for real-time information and are routinely using Google searches during patient consults to make sure they have the most up-to-date information to hand.

Australian pharma companies have been slow to respond to this changing environment, the paper reveals. 

It highlights data from pharmaceutical consulting firm IQVIA that show, despite more GPs choosing not to see reps, investment in marketing materials for drug rep visits increased by 22% between 2015 and 2019.

However, the pharma companies and their marketing teams that are willing to embrace this new digital landscape and engage GPs in the ways they want are seeing strong positive results. 

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