February 19, 2019

As the National Accounts Manager for a Pharma company and a pharmacist, I have mixed emotions about the use of samples. There is no doubt that from an economic standpoint giving samples to the prescriber to give to the patient is very cost effective; however, as a pharmacist I would rather have the patient go to the pharmacy with a voucher for a free starter supply.

The reason I like the voucher has to due with drug interactions and medication adherence. When a prescriber gives samples they really have no way to know if the patient is using a medication from another prescriber that may be contraindicated, and there is no way to insure that the patient will actually ever fill the prescription. Sending the patient to the pharmacy for their first fill free helps overcome these problems.

This week our Medical Editor, Joy Pape, shares an experience that her office had with one of her patients that points towards the value of a voucher. Check out this week’s Disaster Averted to see how handing your patients samples may actually make your job harder.

Dave Joffe

Editor-in-chief