A new study suggests that nearly one-fifth of office-based physicians refuse to see sales reps from the drug and device industry, and nearly 23 percent more won't see the reps unless they set an appointment. The survey data comes from a telephone survey of 180,000 office-based physicians in the U.S.

The study, by SK&A Information Services, concluded that of those who will see reps, 73 percent are open to seeing them pretty much anytime, while 5 percent of physicians will visit with industry reps only on specific days of the week, and 3.2 percent of physicians limit their time with reps to specific times of the day (most commonly lunch time). As with other white collar workers, Friday afternoons and Monday mornings are the hardest time to get their attention, the researchers noted.

To learn more about the study:
- read this SK&A press release
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