[e-drug] Sales reps techniques - Academic detailing

["Valeria Frighi" <valeria.frighi@psych.ox.ac.uk>]

E-DRUG: Sales reps techniques - Academic detailing
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['Academic detailing' was first described by Jerry Avorn and Stephen Soumerai about 20 years ago. It is a method of education that uses some of the marketing techniques of sales reps to engage a prescriber in a face-to-face discussion about a specific therapeutic topic.
An early article was 'Principles of educational outreach ('academic detailing') to improve clinical decision making'.  S. B. Soumerai and J. Avorn. JAMA Vol. 263 No. 4, January 26, 1990.  BS]

Dear all,

in our Mental Health Trust, we are setting up a pharmacy led programme (if we get the money I mean...)  whereby our pharmacists will visit General Practitioners in their health centres. This is called "academic detailing" and is strongly based on the structure of drug reps visits. By this programme we are planning to achieve capillary dissemination and promote adherence by  local GPs (and patients) to the Psychotropic Monitoring Guidelines we've recently posted on our own website. Our programme also has a strong patient led component (for instance, they'll carry their own blood tests cards, with dates and results).

Something good can be learnt  from drug company practice, and used in a way that will truly promote patients' health - or so we hope (we'll know once we have formally evaluated this long-term project).

Valeria

Dr Valeria Frighi
University Dept. of Psychiatry
Neurosciences Building
Warneford Hospital
Oxford
OX3 7JX
UK
"Valeria Frighi" <valeria.frighi@psych.ox.ac.uk>