The FDA published a notice stating its intent to collect information to learn more about how pharmaceutical and opioid manufacturers' targeted marketing toward physicians influences their decision-making, according to a notice posted in the Federal Register March 15.
Under the four-page notice, the FDA plans to collect responses through WebMD's Medscape subscriber network from 700 primary care physicians, 600 specialists, 350 nurse practitioners and 350 physician assistant surveys, through May 14.
The goal of the notice is to understand how physicians discover and learn about prescription drugs, clinical trials and FDA approvals, and specifically how opioids and other pharmaceuticals are marketed toward them.
"Although [healthcare professionals] are learned intermediaries, like most people, they may rely on heuristics in making decisions and may have cognitive biases in the type of information they attend to at any given time. They may be persuaded by strong statements and may not have the time to ascertain accuracy of such information. The proposed survey will provide further insights about how professionally targeted prescription drug promotion might influence healthcare professionals' decision-making processes and practices," the notice reads.
To access the notice, click here.