PILOT STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF MEDICINES ADVERTISING ON HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND PATIENTS

The impact of advertising of medicinal products on healthcare professionals and patients is essential in the context of rational drug use. The hypothesis of this study is that the advertising of medicinal products affects the purchase decision and/or the recommendation of medical professionals and patients. Based on this hypothesis, the aim of the study is to explore attitudes towards drug advertising and the extent of its impact on patients/consumers and healthcare professionals. The study was conducted using the method of "direct anonymous poll" among 87 healthcare professionals (doctors, pharmacists, dentists and health care professionals) and 150 consumers/patients in four Bulgarian cities – Sofia, Plovdiv, Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil within 2012. The results show that patients (57.6% of respondents) have more confidence and are more likely to believe in drug advertising than healthcare specialists (35.6%). Over 82% of the healthcare specialists in Bulgaria admit to recommend/prescribe medicines which have been promoted to them, a little over 73% of patients admit that the advertising of a particular product has incited them to purchase. All this leads to the conclusion of good performance by the advertising of medicinal products on the decision to purchase and / or recommendation of a specific product