PHARMACEUTICAL SALES TRAINING
|PHARMACOLOGY, DRUG DEVELOPMENT,
FDA REGULATIONS, MEDICAL
TERMINOLOGY & PRACTICE EXAM WITH
ACTUAL CORRECT QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED DETAILED ANSWERS|CURRENTLY
TESTING VERSION|ALREADY GRADED
A+|EXPERT VERIFIED FOR GUARANTEED
PASS 2026
Pharmaceuticals
Medicines and vaccines for human and animal use. Products may have a trademark (brand) ame
or be generic, and they may be prescription or over the counter.
Diagnostic
Equipment and supplies used in screening, detecting, and monitoring disease. Can range from
simple home testing kits to sophisticated diagnostic imaging technologies.
Medical Devices
Advanced instrumentation and appliances used for medical therapy, such as joint replacements,
implantable defibrillators, and pacemakers. Also includes drug delivery devices such as syringes,
infusion pumps, metered-dose inhalers, and transdermal patches.
Medical Supplies
Commodity, high-volume supplies such as surgical gowns and gloves.
Durable Medical Equipment
Reusable products for health-related use in the home, such as walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen
equipment, prosthetics and hospital beds.
Home-Based Care
- Patients/consumers and their families and friends
- Home health nurses and aides
1|Page
,Primary Care (Checkups and General Health Issues)
- OB/GYN
- Family/general practitioners
- Internists
Secondary Care (Specialized Outpatient Consults)
- Specialists
Tertiary Care (Inpatient)
- Community hospitals
- Academic medical centers
- Skilled nursing facilities
End-Stage Care
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Hospitals
- Hospices
HMO
Health Maintenance Organizations
PBM
Pharmacy Benefit Managers
PBM role
Act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and large drug purchasers, allowing
the PBM to manage the pharmaceutical benefits of HMOs.
HMO role
Large employers, nursing homes, hospitals, and other clients.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Regulates the introduction of new drugs and enforces the United States drug laws.
The marketing of prescription drugs fall into two main categories:
1. Professional physician promotions
2. Direct-to-consumer advertising
2|Page
,Professional Physician Promotions
Primarily involve sales representatives' activity in physicians' offices, hospitals, clinics, and
pharmacies. Also includes advertising in medical journals, conferences, seminars, direct e-mail,
etc.
Direct-to-consumer Advertising
Refers to patient-directed messages in television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc. It is the
newest effective marketing technique.
Reasons for growth in the direct-to-consuming advertising industry
1. The FDA easing regulations on this type of advertising.
2. Patients wanting to be more involved in their healthcare decisions, and thus more receptive
to advertising that includes educational messages.
3. The public's increasing medical and health literacy.
4. Physicians' increasing willingness to consider, and in many cases grant, their patients' request
for advertised drugs.
Headquarters
Executive-level sales managers (e.g., directors, the vice president of sales) and support staff
usually work out of corporate headquarters. National account managers (NAMs), who sell to
large managed care organizations (MCOs) and pharmacy benefit management (PBMs), also
typically work at corporate headquarters. Headquarters also houses product managers who are
part of the company's marketing department, orchestrating the overall strategy that
representatives implement in the marketplace.
Regions
Most sales organizations divide the country into five to ten geographic regions, each of which is
supervised by a regional manager (RM). Typical regions include Northwest, Midwest, Mid-
Atlantic, etc.
Districts
Each region features several districts and each district is supervised by a district manager (DM).
For example, a Southwest region may be divided into separate districts for Georgia, Alabama,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, North and Central Florida, and South Florida. Heavily
populated states such as New York and Connecticut may be split into 3 or 4 districts in the
southern part of the state alone, with separate districts for the rest of the state.
Territories
3|Page
, Finally, each district includes 8-12 territories. Territories are staffed by representatives (the
position that almost every entry level reps get when they first start). Some representatives
cover a territory by themselves. Other territories may be staffed by several representatives with
slightly different responsibilities. For example, some may call on hospitals, and others on
physicians' offices or clinics, or different representatives may promote different products within
the same territory.
The sales team consists of:
- Territory Representative
- Specialty, Hospital, and Institutional Representatives
- District Manager (DM)
- Regional Manager (RM)
- National Account Manager (NAM)
Territory Representative (Professional Sales Representative)
The heart of a pharmaceutical sales team is the group of "reps" who interact with customers on
a daily basis. Regardless of how a company configures its territories, each team member is
assigned approximately the same number of physicians to cover.
Specialty Representatives
Trained to sell to specific physician specialists, such a cardiologists, endocrinologists, or
oncologists.
Hospital Representatives (Institutional Representatives)
Call exclusively on hospitals. Institutional representatives may also call on Veterans
Administration (VA) hospitals, nursing homes, home healthcare agencies, and rehabilitation
centers. Representatives who sell to hospitals and other institutions have been promoted from
the ranks of territory representatives.
District Manager (DM)
Territory representatives report to a DM. Responsibility is to coach and mentor territory
representatives. DMs also ensure that each representative is making their required calls and is
on track to achieve monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual sales goals.
Regional Manager (RM)
The district managers report to a regional manager. Sets the strategy for a region and monitors
sales activity in each district under his or her supervision.
National Account Manager (NAM)
4|Page
|PHARMACOLOGY, DRUG DEVELOPMENT,
FDA REGULATIONS, MEDICAL
TERMINOLOGY & PRACTICE EXAM WITH
ACTUAL CORRECT QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED DETAILED ANSWERS|CURRENTLY
TESTING VERSION|ALREADY GRADED
A+|EXPERT VERIFIED FOR GUARANTEED
PASS 2026
Pharmaceuticals
Medicines and vaccines for human and animal use. Products may have a trademark (brand) ame
or be generic, and they may be prescription or over the counter.
Diagnostic
Equipment and supplies used in screening, detecting, and monitoring disease. Can range from
simple home testing kits to sophisticated diagnostic imaging technologies.
Medical Devices
Advanced instrumentation and appliances used for medical therapy, such as joint replacements,
implantable defibrillators, and pacemakers. Also includes drug delivery devices such as syringes,
infusion pumps, metered-dose inhalers, and transdermal patches.
Medical Supplies
Commodity, high-volume supplies such as surgical gowns and gloves.
Durable Medical Equipment
Reusable products for health-related use in the home, such as walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen
equipment, prosthetics and hospital beds.
Home-Based Care
- Patients/consumers and their families and friends
- Home health nurses and aides
1|Page
,Primary Care (Checkups and General Health Issues)
- OB/GYN
- Family/general practitioners
- Internists
Secondary Care (Specialized Outpatient Consults)
- Specialists
Tertiary Care (Inpatient)
- Community hospitals
- Academic medical centers
- Skilled nursing facilities
End-Stage Care
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Hospitals
- Hospices
HMO
Health Maintenance Organizations
PBM
Pharmacy Benefit Managers
PBM role
Act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and large drug purchasers, allowing
the PBM to manage the pharmaceutical benefits of HMOs.
HMO role
Large employers, nursing homes, hospitals, and other clients.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Regulates the introduction of new drugs and enforces the United States drug laws.
The marketing of prescription drugs fall into two main categories:
1. Professional physician promotions
2. Direct-to-consumer advertising
2|Page
,Professional Physician Promotions
Primarily involve sales representatives' activity in physicians' offices, hospitals, clinics, and
pharmacies. Also includes advertising in medical journals, conferences, seminars, direct e-mail,
etc.
Direct-to-consumer Advertising
Refers to patient-directed messages in television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc. It is the
newest effective marketing technique.
Reasons for growth in the direct-to-consuming advertising industry
1. The FDA easing regulations on this type of advertising.
2. Patients wanting to be more involved in their healthcare decisions, and thus more receptive
to advertising that includes educational messages.
3. The public's increasing medical and health literacy.
4. Physicians' increasing willingness to consider, and in many cases grant, their patients' request
for advertised drugs.
Headquarters
Executive-level sales managers (e.g., directors, the vice president of sales) and support staff
usually work out of corporate headquarters. National account managers (NAMs), who sell to
large managed care organizations (MCOs) and pharmacy benefit management (PBMs), also
typically work at corporate headquarters. Headquarters also houses product managers who are
part of the company's marketing department, orchestrating the overall strategy that
representatives implement in the marketplace.
Regions
Most sales organizations divide the country into five to ten geographic regions, each of which is
supervised by a regional manager (RM). Typical regions include Northwest, Midwest, Mid-
Atlantic, etc.
Districts
Each region features several districts and each district is supervised by a district manager (DM).
For example, a Southwest region may be divided into separate districts for Georgia, Alabama,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, North and Central Florida, and South Florida. Heavily
populated states such as New York and Connecticut may be split into 3 or 4 districts in the
southern part of the state alone, with separate districts for the rest of the state.
Territories
3|Page
, Finally, each district includes 8-12 territories. Territories are staffed by representatives (the
position that almost every entry level reps get when they first start). Some representatives
cover a territory by themselves. Other territories may be staffed by several representatives with
slightly different responsibilities. For example, some may call on hospitals, and others on
physicians' offices or clinics, or different representatives may promote different products within
the same territory.
The sales team consists of:
- Territory Representative
- Specialty, Hospital, and Institutional Representatives
- District Manager (DM)
- Regional Manager (RM)
- National Account Manager (NAM)
Territory Representative (Professional Sales Representative)
The heart of a pharmaceutical sales team is the group of "reps" who interact with customers on
a daily basis. Regardless of how a company configures its territories, each team member is
assigned approximately the same number of physicians to cover.
Specialty Representatives
Trained to sell to specific physician specialists, such a cardiologists, endocrinologists, or
oncologists.
Hospital Representatives (Institutional Representatives)
Call exclusively on hospitals. Institutional representatives may also call on Veterans
Administration (VA) hospitals, nursing homes, home healthcare agencies, and rehabilitation
centers. Representatives who sell to hospitals and other institutions have been promoted from
the ranks of territory representatives.
District Manager (DM)
Territory representatives report to a DM. Responsibility is to coach and mentor territory
representatives. DMs also ensure that each representative is making their required calls and is
on track to achieve monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual sales goals.
Regional Manager (RM)
The district managers report to a regional manager. Sets the strategy for a region and monitors
sales activity in each district under his or her supervision.
National Account Manager (NAM)
4|Page
