Pharmaceutical Sales Reps

The doctor will see you now.

That familiar refrain — which traditionally was directed at patients — may apply to pharmaceutical sales reps, a new survey finds. After years of eschewing these sales teams, the percentage of doctors who refuse to meet with them fell to 19 percent this year from 25 percent in 2014, according to CMI/Compas.

But before concluding that a sea change has truly occurred, consider that a consulting firm recently released data indicating physicians are less accessible to sales reps than before. After analyzing sales calls reports filed by industry reps, ZS Associates found 47 percent of prescribers are accessible to reps this year, down from 51 percent in 2014 and 55 percent in 2013.