90 percent of docs see more than 10 reps a week – but they prefer an appointment

As we are developing new brand launch strategies for our pharma clients, we at Stinson Brand Innovation are often asked about the trends in rep access to physicians' offices.

So, I was interested to see that SK&A’s latest Physician Access report says 90 percent of physician offices are visited by more than 10 pharmaceutical or medical device reps each week.

Even so, nearly half of physicians say they require or prefer appointments to be made prior to one-on-one meetings.

The number of physicians who restrict access altogether has remained unchanged in the past 12 months at about 23 percent.

Other significant trends found within the report include:

• Specialty physicians are less likely to grant sales reps access than general practitioners. The top-three accessible physicians are allergists/immunologists (4.4% no-see rate), diabetes specialists (7%) and gynecologists (7.5%). The least accessible physicians are diagnostic radiologists (91.8% no-see rate), pathologists (91.7%) and neuroradiologists (91.5%).
   
• Offices with fewer patients seen daily are less likely to host sales reps. Sites with a daily patient volume of one to 10 have a no-access rate of 28.9 percent and those with a daily patient volume of 31-40 have a 13.6 percent no-access rate.
   
• Health system- and hospital-owned offices are less likely to grant sales reps access than offices not part of a health system or owned by a hospital. Health system- and hospital-owned offices have no-access rates of 30.3 percent and 29.5 percent, respectively. Non- health system and hospital-owned offices have no-access rates of 21.5 percent each.
   
• Larger practices are less likely to grant sales reps access. Offices with one to two physicians have a no-access rate of 13.4 percent while offices with 10 or more physicians have a no-access rate of 42.1 percent.
   
• Physician offices in the Western U.S. are least likely to allow sales reps access. The South had the lowest no-access rate with 19.4 percent, and the West had a 28.2 percent no-access rate.

These findings and more are available in SK&A’s updated Physician Access study. Are practice location, specialty, ownership and office size determinants in physician access? Discover the answers in this complimentary national report.