Over 2,000 doctors say peer reviews are more credible than information from pharma
In advance of a November 2 webinar on Drug Ratings, a new poll of global physicians who have used Sermo Drug Ratings shows the doctor-to-doctor drug review system is expected to lead to better patient outcomes, has already changed physician impressions of some prescription drugs, and is considered more credible than information from the pharmaceutical industry.
Hosted on Sermo, the leading global social network for doctors, the Drug Ratings database has over doubled in size since its initial release in May 2017 and now contains over 440,000 drug ratings from global licensed physicians. Drugs in the database are matched to FDA-approved indications and rated according to their efficacy, safety, tolerability, accessibility, and adherence by verified doctors. Reviews often also include commentary based on physicians’ real-world experiences.
A recent poll of over 2,000 physicians who have used Drug Ratings shows strong adoption of the rating tool and confidence in its future applications for doctors and patients alike:
- 73 percent think colleagues’ reviews are more credible than the information they receive from the pharmaceutical industry
- 57 percent have already changed their perception of a drug after reading peer ratings and comments
- 80 percent believe peer ratings and comments will change their perception of a drug in future
- 77 percent plan to use drug ratings when researching what drug to prescribe a patient
- 84 percent believe peer drug reviews will lead to better outcomes by enhancing physicians’ understanding of how a drug works in the real world
“Patients in the real world are more complex than those that participate in clinical trials. Physicians have always consulted each other for advice about the best course of therapy, relying on one another. Although clinical studies are the foundation by which physicians evaluate drugs, those studies cannot offer real world experience. Drug Ratings lets global doctors share those real-world insights at scale,” said Sermo CEO Peter Kirk. “We built a platform so doctors could communicate with each other efficiently and deliver their patients the best care possible, and we couldn’t be happier at the growth and support the tool has received in just a few short months.”
More information about Drug Ratings will be presented in a webinar at 12:30pm ET on Thursday, November 2. Registration for the free webinar can be completed here.
Respondents for the poll came from the U.S., Italy, the U.K., France, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Poland, Sweden, Korea, Switzerland, Colombia, Israel, Japan, and South Africa. The margin of error for this poll is ±2%. More about the polling methodology used can be found here.
About Sermo & Sermo Drug Ratings
Sermo is the leading global social network for physicians where 800,000 fully verified and licensed physicians from more than 150 countries talk real-world medicine, review what peers think of different treatment options – including ratings and comments on prescription drugs – collectively solve cases, respond to healthcare polls, and earn honorarium from surveys.
Sermo is also the world’s largest healthcare professional (HCP) polling company. The Sermo research network is comprised of 1.8 million HCPs and includes 40 percent of the U.S. physician population. Most of the 700,000 surveys Sermo conducts annually are among specialist physicians – over 70 percent of physician members are specialists. Learn more at https://www.sermo.com.
Drug Ratings was developed by Sermo and Sermo physicians. The statistical methodology behind Ratings was developed and verified independently by biostatistics consultants led by Lee-Jen Wei of the Blue Null Consulting Group.
