The PRESCRIBE acronym

Presenter

Who is presenting? Is it a pharmaceutical representative speaking or showing a video? Is it an “expert” invited by the drug company? Does he or she use examples based on the same types of patients you see? Did the attendees have a say in the selection of the speakers or facilitators? Do the speakers announce any conflicting interests they might have?

Relationship building

During the educational session, how much time and energy is dedicated to formal and informal rapport building between the pharmaceutical representatives and the attendees?

Evidence base

Does the presented material reflect a balanced representation of the literature on the topic? Are conclusions reached based on a rational appraisal of this literature? Are the results clinically meaningful or just statistically significant? Are references properly cited? Are the claims made justified by the kinds of people studied and types of measures used?

Samples

Do attendees receive drug samples or other company promotional materials? If so, what is their relative value (eg, pens or gestational wheels vs textbooks or electronic equipment)?

Charts and graphs

Do the visual materials present study results in a misleading fashion? (For example, is “risk reduction” presented clearly or just in a relative format?) Are the visuals developed by the speakers themselves or are they part of a “canned” presentation developed by a sponsor?

Restrictions in funding

Did the drug company provide an unrestricted educational grant for the session? Are any content restrictions clearly stated?

Incentives

Is some kind of promotional incentive (eg, a meal, movie admission, round of golf) provided by the company to help increase attendance? As with samples, what is the incentive’s relative value?

Branding

How strong is the presence of either company or product names and logos, or both, during the visual and spoken components of the session? Are products or promotional materials on display during the talk? Are brand names used for drugs instead of generic names?

Emotional response

What is your overall gut reaction during and after the talk? Do you feel manipulated in any way? Does the process feel ethical to you?

When using the acronym, apply a subjective score of 0 to 2 to each item on the checklist. A lower total score likely reflects a presentation with a higher degree of objectivity and accuracy with respect to the content presented or fewer drug company promotional strategies to influence an audience member into prescribing or using its product.

We have found the PRESCRIBE acronym to be a useful and enlightening tool at our debriefing sessions at the end of drug industry–sponsored presentations, especially when comparing the scores among pharmaceutical presentations. The acronym has also served as a springboard for discussion of broader questions surrounding pharmaceutical industry involvement in continuing medical education.

We encourage other physicians to apply the acronym to sessions they attend, and we invite their feedback.