Informational Shocks, Off-Label Prescribing and the Effects of Physician Detailing

Management Science, Forthcoming

45 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2015 Last revised: 19 Jan 2018

See all articles by Bradley Shapiro

Bradley Shapiro

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Date Written: July 19, 2017

Abstract

The relationship between pharmaceutical detailing and prescriptions for non FDA-approved (off-label) use has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny, with more than $12 billion in regulatory settlements for off-label promotion since 2004. Using the case of AstraZeneca's anti-psychotic drug, Seroquel, I study the extent to which off-label prescriptions are caused by detailing. Using a physician panel that connects detailing exposure to medical charts, I exploit within-physician variation to identify detailing effects. I find the effect of detailing on off-label prescriptions is small in both absolute and relative terms. Detailing on net tilts the prescribing distribution toward on-label.

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Detailing, Sales Force, Off-Label Prescribing, Regulation, Advertising

JEL Classification: M31, M37, L00, H51, I11

Suggested Citation

Shapiro, Bradley, Informational Shocks, Off-Label Prescribing and the Effects of Physician Detailing (July 19, 2017). Management Science, Forthcoming , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2618835 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2618835

Bradley Shapiro (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/bradley.shapiro/

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