Insights

Is Pharma Listening to Doctors?

10.4.2025

In a healthcare system strained by rising patient demand, limited resources, and rapid innovation, one message stands out: doctors feel unheard by pharma.

Our 2025 So What? Research Survey of 400+ Australian Doctors reveals that the majority of specialities and general practice don’t feel that pharma listens to or values their feedback.

In this article, we share insights on:

  • Who feels most unheard
  • What doctors want senior pharma leaders to know
  • Gaps in misunderstanding
  • A framework for partnership
  • Calls to action for pharma

Are Doctors Feeling Heard?

While many clinicians take time to share feedback with pharmaceutical companies, only a small portion believe that their input leads to meaningful change. That gap - between speaking and being heard - is shaping the trust, engagement, and outcomes pharma can expect from the medical community.

In our latest survey of 400+ healthcare professionals (HCPs) across Australia, we asked:

“Do you feel like your voice is heard when you provide feedback to pharma companies?”

Here’s what they told us:

  • Only 22% said “Always”
  • 58% said “Sometimes”
  • 20% said “Rarely” or “Never”

These numbers didn’t vary much between GPs and specialists but context does matter:

  • Rural doctors are twice as likely to say they rarely feel heard compared to metro doctors (41% vs. 20%)
  • KOLs are more likely to feel heard than non-KOLs (27% vs. 16% selecting “Always”)
  • Doctors who rate their rep interactions highly (8–10 out of 10) are twice as likely to feel heard by pharma (34% vs. 17%)

Doctors who value their rep interactions are more likely to feel heard - and those who don’t feel heard tend to rate pharma lower on trust, relevance, and support. The cause isn’t clear, but being heard and meaningful engagement consistently go hand in hand.

What Doctors Want Pharma Leaders to Know

When asked “If you could give one piece of feedback to senior leadership in pharma, what would it be?”, doctors opened up - offering clear, consistent messages about what they need.

We coded their responses and found five key themes.

Each theme highlights a gap in understanding and more importantly, each is a call to action for pharma to partner better with HCPs.

1. Engage with Purpose

Doctors are clear: they don’t need more emails or surface-level visits. They want relevant, high-quality interactions that respect their time and reflect their reality.

Many said they’re overwhelmed with generic messaging and sales-driven content. What they value instead is tailored, two-way conversations that are grounded in clinical challenges and patient needs.

“Be happy with your reps. In some cases, they are better than all the support and information we get from official company channels.” - General Practitioner

This means thoughtful engagement, real-world data (including side effects, interactions, and costs), and a genuine effort to understand each clinician’s practice - not just push a product.

2. Put Patients First

Doctors repeatedly called for stronger patient support. This goes beyond basic patient leaflets.

They want to see pharma invest in accessible, multilingual, and locally relevant materials that help people understand and manage their conditions. They’re also looking for messaging that reflects respect for patient autonomy and culturally nuanced care.

“Your drug is used to treat patients and will affect their lives. It's a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.” - Anaesthetist

Patient centricity isn’t just a slogan. It’s a litmus test for whether a company truly understands the role of medicine in a human life.

3. Fix Access Barriers

HCPs are acutely aware of financial and logistical hurdles their patients face. They urged pharma to do more to ease access, especially in a system where the PBS can be slow to respond to emerging needs.

They called for:

  • Advocacy for PBS listing of effective but underused treatments
  • Expanded compassionate access programs
  • Lower out-of-pocket costs
  • More reliable supply chains
  • Fair clinical trial opportunities

“Do your best to reduce the cost of non-PBS prescriptions and products. The world has become a place where only the wealthy can afford top-class health care.” - Endocrinologist

This theme isn’t just about affordability; it’s about equity and accountability.

4. Be a Better Partner

Doctors don’t want to be marketed at. They want to be supported.

They expressed a need for:

  • More product samples
  • Transparent, unbiased information to aid prescribing
  • Better face-to-face engagement
  • Regular, respectful updates to foster collaboration

“Doctors will more likely prescribe your product if they are provided with drug samples to start treatment.” - Rheumatologist

This theme is fundamental to fostering strong relationships. If pharma wants loyalty, it needs to show up consistently and add value beyond the product detailer.

5. Level Up Medical Education

Education is a key area where pharma can lead (or lose trust).

They’re calling for:

  • More face-to-face, peer-to-peer and CPD-accredited sessions
  • Greater investment in under-served areas like women’s health
  • Ethically sound, evidence-based educational content

“More face-to-face educational meetings. It’s a valuable, interactive way to learn from peers and specialists.” - General Practitioner

This is more than a checklist. It’s about curating credible, clinician-focused learning experiences that build expertise and trust.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t just feedback. It’s a roadmap.

Each of these five themes represents what doctors want from pharma leadership. They’re saying:

"Show us you’re listening. Meet us where we are. Help us help our patients"

The gap between being heard and being helped is where reputation, relationships, and results are won or lost. Senior pharma leaders have a choice: treat this feedback as a compliance exercise or seize it as a blueprint for transformation.

In future articles, we’ll take a closer look at these themes and explore practical strategies to close the gap.

If you want to understand what your customers are really thinking, contact us today. Let’s talk about how a customised deep dive can sharpen your customer strategy.

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Is Pharma Listening to Doctors?
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