Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1563

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: news

National Health.
Direct-To-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising
2002 Jan
http://www.nationalhealthcouncil.org/advocacy/dtc_paper.htm

Full text:

The National Health Council’s strategic plan calls for increased emphasis on the development of issue-specific information that will assist Council member organizations, their constituencies, and policy makers in formulating policy positions. This paper on Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising is intended to do just that.

The Council identified the need for the paper and commissioned a writer to complete a draft. Council staff conducted a thorough review of the document and research, and submitted the draft to a committee of senior government relations staff from our member voluntary health agencies (VHAs); the CEOs of our member VHAs; and the Council’s Board of Directors.

Each of these groups had the opportunity to review and suggest edits to the paper, and voted to approve the release of the paper in its final form. The result is reflective of a tremendous effort on the part of the voluntary health agency community.

We invite you to read the Council’s recent paper, “Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising: Overview and Recommendations,” which explores the arguments for and against DTC advertising and examines the evidence surrounding the issue.

To download a free copy of the paper, click HERE for a PDF version of this document. You will need Acrobat Reader to view this file. To download this free software, click HERE.

The Council has also developed a position statement in light of the existing data and evidence. To read the statement, click HERE.

National Health Council Statement

Direct-To-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising
January 2002
After completing a thorough review of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising*, the National Health Council believes that DTC advertising is an effective tool for educating consumers and patients about health conditions and possible treatments. While recognizing that the primary purpose of such advertising is to promote a product, the Council further believes that:

DTC advertising deserves continued, thoughtful study focused on how such advertising might be optimized;
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and other appropriate agencies should be sufficiently funded to conduct research on the effects of DTC advertising on consumer knowledge and public health;
It is critically important that the FDA be adequately funded to continue to provide oversight of DTC advertising, enforce existing regulations and provide timely pre-release guidance to DTC advertisers who request it;
The Council’s review of DTC advertising indicates that it provides important information to consumers and patients, which is often beneficial to their health.

Patients are becoming more informed about their diseases and disabilities and are taking a more active role in their own health care. Several studies show that DTC advertising provides patients with valuable information about their disease or disability. Other studies also show that this advertising provides information about diseases and conditions to people who may be at risk.

DTC advertising encourages consumers to take action – visit their physician, seek information, and ask questions. It improves some patients’ willingness and ability to follow through with their drug treatment regimens. And it can enhance communication or begin a dialogue between patients and their health care professional. The preponderance of evidence indicates that most consumers and many physicians, as well as FDA, support DTC advertising as long as it complies with FDA’s regulations and guidelines and refers consumers to their physicians.

Both the benefits and concerns related to DTC advertising deserve further thoughtful study in such areas as consumer perceptions and comprehension; the patient-doctor relationship; the impact on health outcomes, and the impact on health care costs based on integrated data and across components of care.

The National Health Council believes that it is critical that DTC advertising be conducted in a responsible, ethical manner. Pharmaceutical companies should continue to work with patients, doctors, pharmacists, and health plans to make certain that their DTC advertising – in all its forms – enhances patient knowledge by providing balanced, easy to understand information that supports the doctor-patient relationship.

The National Health Council will continue working with patients, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and Congress to make sure that DTC advertising of prescription drugs continues to provide real benefits for patients and their providers as well as manufacturers.

To download a PDF version of this study, click HERE.

http://www.nationalhealthcouncil.org/advocacy/dtc_paper.htm