More physicians and health systems are restricting access to medical industry salespeople, including device representatives, according to Medscape Multispecialty.
Here are five thoughts:
1. In 2016, 36.5 percent of physicians restricted reps' access, compared to 22.9 percent of physicians in 2010.
2. Among hospital- and health system-employed physicians, 50 percent of providers have a no-access policy.
3. Research illustrating how reps could impact a physician's prescribing patterns is likely a catalyst behind this closed-door policy. A JAMA Internal Medicine study found a free meal could entice a physician to prescribe a costlier drug over a less expensive generic alternative.
4. The Physician Payments Sunshine Act created the Open Payments program which mandates drug and medical device manufacturers to report every "transfer of value" of $10 or more to physicians and teaching hospitals to CMS. Following the program, the no-access rate rallied from 27.8 percent in December 2013 to 26.5 percent in June 2016.
5. Region also plays a factor in no-access rates, with rates being highest in the West (42.4 percent) and lowest in the South (30.9 percent). Vermont had the highest no-access rate, however, of 63.7 percent while Mississippi had the lowest no-access rate of 24.6 percent.
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