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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">JPSIM</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title>Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine</journal-title>
        <abbrev-title>J Pak Soc Intern Med</abbrev-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn publication-format="print">2709-8729</issn>
      <issn publication-format="electronic">2710-0804</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.70302/jpsim.v6i3.2550</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">jpsim.v6i3.2550</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Original Research</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Assessing Awareness and Information Sources of Newly Launched Drugs Among Healthcare Providers in Primary and Secondary Hospitals of Sialkot</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Rajpoot</surname>
            <given-names>Nauman Rafi</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name>
            <surname>Eatsham</surname>
            <given-names>M. Umar</given-names>
          </name>
          <email>pharmacist.pioneer@gmail.com</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/>
          <xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">*</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Hussain</surname>
            <given-names>Sagheer</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3"/>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Aslam</surname>
            <given-names>Umbreen</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4"/>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Javed</surname>
            <given-names>Mohsan</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5"/>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Hadi</surname>
            <given-names>Abdul</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5"/>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <aff id="aff1">
        <institution>Sahara Medical College, Narowal, Pakistan</institution>
      </aff>
      <aff id="aff2">
        <institution>University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan</institution>
      </aff>
      <aff id="aff3">
        <institution>DHQ Hospital, Sheikhupura, Pakistan</institution>
      </aff>
      <aff id="aff4">
        <institution>Services Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan</institution>
      </aff>
      <aff id="aff5">
        <institution>THQ Hospital, Sambrial, Sialkot, Pakistan</institution>
      </aff>
      <author-notes>
        <corresp id="cor1">*Correspondence: M. Umar Eatsham (pharmacist.pioneer@gmail.com)</corresp>
      </author-notes>
      <pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="electronic" iso-8601-date="2025-08-23">
        <day>23</day>
        <month>08</month>
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date date-type="collection" publication-format="electronic">
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>6</volume>
      <issue>3</issue>
      <fpage>268</fpage>
      <lpage>272</lpage>
      <history>
        <date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2025-01-27">
          <day>27</day>
          <month>01</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="rev-recd" iso-8601-date="2025-02-08">
          <day>08</day>
          <month>02</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="accepted" iso-8601-date="2025-07-22">
          <day>22</day>
          <month>07</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
      </history>
      <permissions>
        <copyright-statement>Copyright © 2025 The Author(s)</copyright-statement>
        <copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
        <copyright-holder>The Author(s)</copyright-holder>
        <ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/>
        <license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
          <ali:license_ref xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ali:license_ref>
          <license-p>This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <self-uri xlink:href="https://psimj.com/article/jpsim.v6i3.2550" content-type="text/html"/>
      <self-uri xlink:href="https://psimj.com/article/jpsim.v6i3.2550.pdf" content-type="application/pdf"/>
      <abstract>
        <sec>
          <title>Objective</title>
          <p>To compare the level of awareness of new drug Lefamulin with healthcare providers in primary and secondary hospitals in Sialkot and determine the main sources of information that affect the awareness of this drug, as a case.</p>
        </sec>
        <sec>
          <title>Methodology</title>
          <p>Cross sectional survey was carried out on healthcare providers working in primary and secondary hospitals in Sialkot. The data on awareness of Lefamulin and the source of information about the availability of Lefamulin was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. The data were examined to identify the level of awareness, the differences among professionals and the most common information channels which were used.</p>
        </sec>
        <sec>
          <title>Results</title>
          <p>Out of 44 respondents, 43.18% reported being fully aware of Lefamulin, 25.00% were somewhat aware but required additional information, and 31.82% were unaware of the drug. Out of 18 responses, consultants demonstrated the highest level of awareness (44.44%), while out of 4 responses, 2 surgeons exhibited the awareness while 2 were unaware. Among information sources, pharmaceutical sale representatives were the most influential (used by 65.91% of respondents), followed by professional conferences or seminars (11.36%) and colleagues or peers (6.82%). Junior doctors and physicians relied more heavily on pharmaceutical sales representatives, while consultants utilized a broader range of sources.</p>
        </sec>
        <sec>
          <title>Conclusion</title>
          <p>The study reveals significant disparities in awareness levels and reliance on pharmaceutical representatives for information about the newly launched medicines. Strategies such as enhanced use of professional conferences, medical journals, and digital platforms are recommended to bridge gaps, particularly for junior doctors and rural providers. Future strategies should focus on diversifying information channels to ensure equitable access to updated drug information across all healthcare sectors.</p>
        </sec>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group xml:lang="en" kwd-group-type="author-keywords">
        <title>Keywords</title>
        <kwd>Drug awareness</kwd>
        <kwd>Lefamulin</kwd>
        <kwd>primary healthcare</kwd>
        <kwd>secondary healthcare</kwd>
        <kwd>pharmaceutical sales representatives.</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
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  <back>
    <notes notes-type="ethics-statement">
      <title>Ethics Statement</title>
      <p>Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board / Ethics Committee (IRB/EC). Approval number: 224/MS-THQ-SMB, dated October 8, 2024.</p>
    </notes>
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</article>
