NEXIUM ONLINE NEWS BLOG

EXPERT DIAGNOSIS: What is the impact of direct-to-consumer marketing?

There was a time when we could depend on television to provide us with education and entertainment.

Yes, that education and entertainment was paid for through advertising. Product manufacturers were very careful about the programs they sponsored because they would suffer in the retail market if the program material was found to be offensive by the TV audience. Both the programs and the advertising were respectful of public decency and morals.

Fast forward to today. Not only have we substituted clean, wholesome entertainment with bawdy programming; it appears product sponsors no longer fear the wrath of consumer ire. We have turned our “family rooms” into theaters our parents would cringe to enter.

Particularly disheartening is the amount of time and dollars spent on drug advertising. Drug advertising panders to almost any bodily function that doesn’t belong in polite company. And, it exposes our children to a philosophy that every one of life’s ills can be remedied by taking a time-release capsule.

Adults often succumb to that siren song of relieving all of life’s pain and trivial inconveniences by taking a pill. We not only attempt to relieve life’s aches and pains with medications but also “fix” problems that would better be discussed with one’s doctor.

Is it any wonder that our outrage to the use of both licit and illicit drugs has been numbed?
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Perhaps we should encourage our drug providers to spend more time on educating the medical community on the merits and hazards of various medications and less time trying to convince the public that all of their woes will be solved by the latest drug.

Direct-to-consumer advertising on TV raises the issue of drug safety
Dr. Tom Doerr, internist and co-founder of Purkinje, a maker of electronic prescribing software

The U.S. is one of only two industrialized countries that allow drug ads on television. The other is New Zealand. Americans see an average of 9 drug commercials per day.

Drug manufacturers rightfully want to maximize their shareholders’ profits. These commercials clearly are designed to create a favorable impression of their newest and most profitable drugs. What you won’t see on these ads are specifics about which patients the drug might actually benefit, the magnitude of the benefit, comparisons with other treatment options, the frequency of side effects and especially the cost.

What the consumer may not recognize is that many of the drugs promoted have marginal — if any — advantages over older drugs that cost much less.

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Who hasn’t seen a Nexium commercial? Does the average consumer know that the patient’s outcomes with this new medication are virtually the same as the over-the-counter and much less expensive Prilosec OTC?

More important, newer products are less well studied, and it is often only years later that side effects become completely known.

The arthritis drug Vioxx was heavily advertised but later removed from the market because it increased the risk of heart attacks. There are hundreds of lawsuits pending about Vioxx.

These ads force physicians to take time away from discussing other important aspects of care and teach patients why the drugs they see advertised on TV are not appropriate for them.

Direct-to-consumer marketing increases the use of more expensive drugs that have a limited track record of safety.

Patients should rely on doctors and pharmacists, not TV spots, to pick drugs.
Kenneth W. Schafermeyer, professor of pharmacy administration, St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Pharmaceutical companies spent more than $4 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising in 2004. According to a 2006 Government Accountability Office report, drug company spending on this advertising increased twice as fast from 1997 through 2005 as spending on physician education or research. This advertising has paid off — for every $1 spent on direct advertising, companies reap an additional $4.20 in sales.

Ads have focused on treating symptoms of chronic conditions such as impotence, arthritis and allergies. Relying on emotional appeals, many ads describe benefits in vague terms with a limited amount of evidence to support their claims.

The ads stimulate patients to seek the advertised medications, and physicians tend to accommodate these requests. From 25 to 30 percent of prescriptions are thought to be initiated by patient requests.

Though many physicians accommodate patients’ requests for advertised drugs, about 80 percent believe this advertising encourages patients to seek treatment they do not need.

There are, of course, two sides to the issue. Proponents say direct-to-consumer advertising provides useful information that promotes early diagnosis and treatment of conditions that would otherwise be under-treated. Opponents argue it encourages overuse of prescription drugs and reliance on the most costly treatments instead of less expensive alternatives.

So what should consumers do? Instead of insisting on an advertised drug, patients should ask a qualified professional — a physician or pharmacist — for complete and balanced information about a particular medication.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 8:09 pm and is filed under Nexium Top News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.