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The effect that marketing has had on the prescription decisions of the medical profession is an area of great social and governmental concern and has been the subject of substantial international debate. In this study, the importance of brand name as a factor influencing the prescription habits of general practitioners and psychiatrists is examined. Data on antidepressant prescriptions supplied by the Australian Governments Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme and results derived from MANOVA and ANOVA analyses suggest that the brand name as much as chemical differences influenced the prescription of choice of antidepressants by both general practitioners and psychiatrists. The use of a well-promoted brand name may be an important evaluation shortcut by both groups regardless of detailed training resulting in medical practices, which may undermine the social imperative of affordable medical care for all. The authors suggest that clinical appropriateness of prescriptions for antidepressants by brand name needs further investigation.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	health systems, marketing, pharmaceuticals, antidepressants, prescribing, doctors and psychiatrists
Research Division:	Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Research Group:	Marketing
Research Field:	Marketing management (incl. strategy and customer relations)
Objective Division:	Economic Framework
Objective Group:	Management and productivity
Objective Field:	Marketing
UTAS Author:	O'Cass, A (Professor Aron O'Cass)
ID Code:	68127
Year Published:	2008
Web of Science® Times Cited:	2
Deposited By:	Management
Deposited On:	2011-03-09
Last Modified:	2015-01-20
Downloads:	1 View Download Statistics