Cancer drug sales reps find access to oncologist most restricted

Oncology remains the most restrictive specialty for pharmaceutical sales representative access this year for the second year in a row, according to the spring 2013 AccessMonitor report from global sales and marketing consulting firm ZS Associates.

The report found that about 65% of oncologists in the USA placed moderate-to-severe restrictions on visits from pharmaceutical sales reps. By comparison, about 58% of cardiologists and 47% of primary care physicians restrict rep access to the same degree. Oncology is the most restrictive of the 20 common medical specialties measured in the report. By comparison, only 17% of oncologists restricted access to reps in 2008.

"Today, the average rep can see an oncologist only seven or eight times per year – and even the best reps visit oncologists just once per month," said Ganesh Vedarajan, principal and leader of the oncology and specialty therapeutics practice at ZS Associates. "Access has continued to decline due to an increased number of oncology reps trying to reach the doctors and an increasing number of doctors joining institutions that severely restrict rep access," he noted.