Evaluation of an Industry-Based Drug Information Service

A questionnaire was sent to 1,000 health professionals who had requested medical information from Marion Merrell Dow between 9/10/91 and 11/15/91. The questionnaire was designed to elicit the health professionals' opinions regarding the written response provided to them by the company, the type or format of the information that should be provided, and the usefulness of various industry-sponsored sources of medical information. Two hundred and fifty-nine questionnaires (25.9%) were returned. Overall, 97% of the responders rated the written response as good, very good, or excellent; 98% rated the objectivity of the response as good or higher. Detailed summaries were sent to 83% of the inquiries. A detailed, referenced summary was preferred by 47% of the responders compared to 33% who wanted reprints. Continuing education symposia and medical information services were rated as the most useful sources of company-sponsored information sources over package inserts, sales representatives, and journal advertisements.

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