UK GPs call for change in Big Pharma, including overhaul of sales operations

General practitioners in the UK are calling for pharmaceutical firms to change their business model to fit the novel National Health Service, according to a new study. The report, What the Doctor Ordered, from global management consultancy Hay Group, reveals a fundamental mismatch between the structure and skills of pharmaceutical sales forces and the changing needs of the NHS.

The research, conducted among 50 GP practice-based commissioning leads, concludes that, in addition to a shift from the traditional transactional sales model to a more collaborative and service-led relationship with the NHS, drugmakers must become more outcomes focused, providing commissioners with the business case they need in order to make investment decisions that benefit patients.

Impact of practice-based commissioning