Study: Doctors More Likely To Use Costly Medical Products If They Interact With Sales Representatives

Physicians are more likely to use more costly medical products if they interact with sales representatives from companies that manufacture them, which would raise care costs for patients, according to a study published recently in the American Heart Journal. The study found that physicians chose to use drug-eluting stents for certain procedures 56% of the time when they interacted with sales representatives and 51% of the time when they did not interact with sales representatives.

• "Sales Reps' Presence Tied to Heart Stent Use: Study" (Seaman, Reuters, 7/2).