Ilona Todd, Marketing Manager
800.328.2615
itodd@cmrinstitute.org
or
Gina Czark
(312) 558-1770

FACT SHEET: CMR Institute Research:
Assessing the Physician/Sales Representative Interaction

Top Line Results

• Physicians who participated in recent research placed a high value on the education and knowledge level of sales representatives.
• Information and skills that sales representatives should be well-versed in and listed as “very important” by the majority of physicians included:
  • Basic principles of drug actions and interactions, including pharmacokinetics, factors that modify the drug response and adverse reactions related to the representative’s product(s)
  • Therapeutic classes of drugs and indications for each
  • Drug resistance trends
  • How the representative’s product compares to other products in the same therapeutic class
  • Presenting and explaining evidence-based clinical studies
  • Outcome measurements and quality-of-life issues
  • Cost benefit of pharmaceuticals
  • Adherence to ethical business practices
  • Knowledge of physician’s specialty and training
  • Effective communications skills
  • Interpersonal skills
  • The role of disease management and clinical practice guidelines in treating patients
  • Disease profiles, related complications, diagnostic procedures and treatment methods
  • Third party payers (insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid), Medicare Part D
• Information and skills listed as “very important” or “somewhat important” by the majority of physicians:
  • Drug research and development process
  • Clinical research and understanding the elements of clinical studies
  • Ongoing research by pharmaceutical companies (drugs in the pipeline)
  • Government regulations affecting research
  • The scientific method, research design and statistics
  • The effects of pharmaceutical marketing on the physician practice
  • Pharmacoeconomics
  • Ethical concerns related to medical care (end-of-life, quality of life, pain management)
  • Business strategies impacting healthcare
  • Understanding the roles of the physician support staff (Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Assistants, etc.)
  • Use of technology in healthcare (e-prescribing, electronic medical records, etc.)
  • Body systems and related disease states
  • Anatomy and physiology of body systems
  • Pathology
  • Medical applications of biotechnology
  • Nutrition and wellness
  • The influence of managed care on physician practices
  • How drugs receive formulary approval
  • Cost containment measures of managed care organizations
• Sales representatives who have completed the requirements for certification by CMR Institute report that their enhanced education contributes to:
  • their ability to have a substantive, in-depth conversation with physicians (86 percent)
  • their ability to better explain their products (80 percent)
  • their credibility with physicians (77 percent)
  • the amount of time they spend with physicians/other providers (53 percent)

Research Overview

• Research included:
  • eight physician focus groups of specialists and PCPs from four geographic regions of the U.S. (75 physicians total);
  • a focus group of pharmaceutical training executives (12 participants);
  • one-on-one telephone interviews with key opinion leaders, including pharmaceutical executives, medical society executives and others;
  • a quantitative online survey of 1,500 primary care and 1,500 specialty physicians (total response was 174 – 105 specialists and 69 primary care physicians); and
  • an online survey of 2,200 CMR Institute graduates (356 responses).
• All but 11 physicians (approximately 4 percent) saw sales representatives as part of their practices.
• CMR graduates who responded included:
  • sales representatives (39 percent),
  • specialty representatives (30 percent),
  • hospital representatives (12 percent),
  • managers/directors (10 percent) and
  • other (8 percent).

About CMR Institute

CMR Institute is an independent, not-for-profit organization that has provided advanced education and certification and set national standards for medical sales representatives since 1966. Its courses and certification programs are developed by leading experts, university faculty, and physicians from academic medical centers and include content in areas such as science, disease management, ethics and leadership.

The Institute offers 46 courses, 29 of which have earned graduate credit status from the American Council on Education. These graduate credit recommendations may be applied toward a master’s degree at many major universities.

CMR Institute is dedicated to increasing knowledge, skills, and understanding of the issues affecting healthcare today. A leading provider of educational solutions for healthcare professionals for more than 40 years, CMR Institute’s mission is to advance knowledge to enhance healthcare.

For more information, visit www.cmrinstitute.org

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