Understanding the perceptions of Thai physicians in Bangkok on prescribing the oral anti-diabetic drugs to T2DM patients.

Abstract

With the rising burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus, it allows growing competition of the pharmaceutical companies marketing the oral anti – diabetic drugs. This study explores the perceptions of Thai physicians in Bangkok on prescribing the oral anti – diabetic drugs to T2DM patients. The face to face interviews were conducted to collect the deep insights from 25 physicians working in the government hospitals in Bangkok. Their considerations in selecting the oral anti – diabetic drugs were related to many aspects including the patient conditions, the properties of the oral anti – diabetic drugs, affordability and the promotions executed by the drug companies. A new framework involving the oral anti – diabetic drug selection was created, focusing on the effective promotional strategies. It was found that the proper promotions should be informative to rise the physicians’ confidences towards the drug profiles. These promotional strategies can be executed by employing medical representatives, providing the drug samples and arranging the academic meetings.