Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1895

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

The fine line between education and marketing..
Proj Inf Perspect 1999 Sep 01; (28):1-3

Abstract:

AIDS: Doctors and AIDS activists have long been the target of marketing by the pharmaceutical industry. More recently, pharmaceutical companies have directed their marketing at case managers, hotline operators, and other individuals with access to harder-to-reach populations. This marketing takes the form of community meetings and targets carefully selected groups or treatment education programs and emphasizes the use of certain products. Such programs may be tempting for financially strained AIDS agencies. However, the AIDS community should be critical of the role that the pharmaceutical industry plays in disease and treatment education. Suggestions on how the needs of the pharmaceutical industry can be balanced with the needs of the AIDS community are provided.

Keywords:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/drug therapy* Anti-HIV Agents/therapeutic use* Drug Industry* Humans Marketing of Health Services*/methods Patient Education*/methods United States