Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14369

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

Liu Y, Doucette WR.
Does direct-to-consumer advertising affect patients' choice of pain medications?
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2008 Apr; 12:(2):89-93
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18474186

Abstract:

In the United States, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has grown rapidly to promote prescription medications, including analgesics. Few studies in the literature directly examine the association between DTCA and patients’ choice of pain medications. This article discusses how DTCA affects such choice from a behavioral perspective, because DTCA-prompted behaviors are important indicators of DTCA’s influence. After DTCA exposure, patients may request prescriptions, seek further medication information, and ask about advertised conditions. Patients who suffer from pain may seek more communication with their health care providers because they are cautious about the information quality of DTCA, mainly because of the recall of rofecoxib (Vioxx; Merck, Whitehouse Station, NJ). However, the availability and DTCA of over-the-counter analgesics complicate their treatment choice. Patients could use DTCA as a tool to launch health communication and make an informed treatment choice with the guidance of their health care providers.

Keywords:
Advertising as Topic/economics Advertising as Topic/methods* Analgesics/economics Analgesics/therapeutic use* Choice Behavior* Drug Industry/economics Drug Industry/methods Humans Marketing/economics Marketing/methods Pain/drug therapy* Pain/economics Pharmaceutical Preparations/administration & dosage Pharmaceutical Preparations/economics