Spreadsheet supplement for case CU197.

Detailing, or visits from pharmaceutical sales representatives to medical offices to provide details about a drug's purpose and side effects, has become the pharmaceutical industry's most costly direct-to-physician marketing effort, with an estimated $20 billion spent annually. Research studies offer conflicting conclusions on the effectiveness of this approach. One study found every dollar spent on detailing resulted in incremental sales of $1.72 and another concluded it offered only a modest impact. In this case students generate a regression analysis to consider the impact of detailing and sampling on a physician's prescription rate.