Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2301

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

Mintzes B Barber ML, Kazanjian K, Evans A
An assessment of the health system impact of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines (DTCA). Volume III: patient information on medicines. Comparative patient/doctor survey in Vancouver and Sacramento
Centre for Health Services & Policy Research 2001 Aug
http://www.chspr.ubc.ca//hpru/pdf/dtca-v3-compsurvey.pdf

Abstract:

Published in part in Mintzes et al. BMJ 202;324:278-279.
Methodology note: Actual prescribing practices of physicians were not measured. There is the possibility of a social acceptability bias. Patients and physicians were surveyed in one city in Canada and the United States and the results may not be generalizable.

Keywords:
*analytic survey/Canada/United States/DTCA/direct-to-consumer advertising/ doctor-patient relationship/ attitude toward promotion/ quality of information/ quality of prescribing/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: CONSUMERS/PATIENTS/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: HEALTH PROFESSIONALS/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: CONSUMERS AND PATIENTS/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PRESCRIBING, DRUG USE/VOLUME OF AND EXPENDITURE ON PROMOTION

Full text:

This was the first study to compare the frequency of patient requests for
prescription drugs in primary health care environments with and without legal DTCA. Both the overall volume of prescription drug requests and requests for advertised drugs occurred more frequently in Sacramento than Vancouver, consistent both with the hypothesis of product-specific effects from advertising and a more general effect on the likelihood that patients request prescriptions from their doctors. In both settings, physicians were highly likely to prescribe a drug if a patient asked for it. They were also highly likely to express ambivalence about treatment choice if they prescribed a drug in
response to a patient request, as compared to other prescriptions. These findings raise concerns about a negative effect on prescribing appropriateness.