Industry Interactions at Medical Conferences: Representatives' Credentials and the Disclosure of Data Limitations...

Exhibit hall booths at medical conferences are a key avenue for promoting prescription drugs to health care providers (HCPs). Because HCPs spend considerable time interacting with industry representatives at conferences, we explored how representatives' credentials might influence HCP perceptions and prescribing intentions of promoted drugs. We also examined how disclosures of clinical trial data limitations about these drugs during conference interactions might influence HCP perceptions and intentions.

We conducted a 2 × 2 factorial experimental study with HCPs (n = 430) during or immediately after their attendance at 1 of 12 US medical conferences. Participants viewed video stimuli depicting an exhibit hall interaction between an industry representative and an HCP discussing a fictitious drug for preventing nausea and vomiting. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental conditions that varied (1) the representative's educational credentials (MBA vs MD) and (2) a disclosure noting clinical trial data limitations (present vs absent). Participants then completed an online questionnaire with questions about the fictitious drug, such as perceived efficacy and perceived risk.

Industry representative credentials had no influence on HCP perceptions and intentions to prescribe the drug, though representatives with medical degrees were rated as having slightly more medical knowledge. Conversely, the disclosure significantly reduced drug efficacy perceptions and led to less positive drug attitudes, although it did not influence prescribing intentions.

The findings suggest that HCP perceptions and intentions are not swayed by the industry representative credentials but that data limitation disclosures can temper HCP perceptions of drugs promoted at medical conferences.