Small Gifts Found to Influence Doctors

Beth Janicek

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According to a study in The Archives of Internal Medicine, little promotional gifts such as pens or coffee mugs inscribed with a drug’s name can really make a difference in the doctor’s prescription patterns. The study reports that students from a medical school which allowed gifts had a more favorable attitude toward a certain drug than did students from a school that bans promotional gifts.

The researchers worked with 352 third- and fourth-year students at Penn, which bans gifts, samples, etc. from drug companies, and the University of Miami, which allows them. When researchers sought to influence the student unconsciously, they found that the fourth year students at Miami showed strong positive feelings for the drug.

The study emphasized the powerful effect of branding, including nonverbal logos. In the past I have blogged on this very issue. In fact, Massachusetts state officials have given the final approval to begin regulating this common trend. The regulations include banning gifts to physicians, limiting when companies can pay for doctors’ meals, and requiring companies to publicly disclose payments to doctors over $50 for certain types of consulting and speaking engagements. In addition, companies will have to disclose payments to doctors and hospitals for research designed to promote a particular products.

The study stated,

“Our findings are particularly notable because they are attributable to simple exposure to promotional items independent of other effects attributable to the social relationships associated with gifts. Our study also suggests that institutional policies, by way of their influence on student attitudes toward marketing, could lead to different responses to branded promotional items.”