Critical Evaluation of Drug Promotional Literature Using WHO Ethical Criteria and Perception of Clinicians at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective To evaluate the rationality of drug promotional literature (DPL) using World Health Organization (WHO) ethical criteria and to evaluate the perception of clinicians regarding DPLs using prevalidated criteria. Methods The promotional material was collected at a tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of 3 months. The perception of different prescribers has been changed. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Results 191 DPLs were collected from various outpatient departments at a tertiary care hospital. The information regarding brand name, generic name, and active ingredients was mentioned in 100% of the collected material. Therapeutic uses of the promotional agents were mentioned in only 60.20%; references were cited in only 15.18%. The adverse effects were listed in only 17.80% of the DPLs. The perception regarding DPLs was gathered from 27 physicians at the same institute. The percentage of clinicians who were aware of the WHO criteria used for analyzing DPL was only 37.03%. All healthcare workers have agreed on the necessity of including critical appraisal of the DPLs in the undergraduate curriculum.