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Direct-to-consumer advertising
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Direct-to-consumer advertising
Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) refers to the marketing and advertising of pharmaceutical products directly to consumers as patients, as opposed to specifically targeting health professionals. The term is synonymous primarily with the advertising of prescription medicines via mass media platforms—most commonly on television and in magazines, but also via online platforms.
Direct-to-consumer advertising is only completely legal in New Zealand and the United States, but are subject to regulations regarding the balanced disclosure of a prescription's benefits in comparison to its risks (including but not limited to side effects and contraindications), among other factors. Regulations regarding DTCA are typically applied to advertising materials that describe a prescription's indications and benefits, and may be more lenient to advertising materials which do not discuss uses. Many countries ban any advertising of prescription drugs directly to consumers.
There are ethical and regulatory concerns regarding DTCA, specifically the extent to which these ads may unduly influence the prescribing of the prescriptions based on consumer demands when, in some cases, they may not be medically necessary, or there are cheaper options available. Critics of DTCA have argued that too much is spent on marketing medications, rather than into research and development; in the United States, ad spending by drugmakers reached US$5.2 billion in 2016.
As outlined by Science Daily in 2009, the impact of DTC media on technology-assisted health behaviors is demonstrated by the increasing number of consumers making critical medical decisions informed primarily by online health information.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines several common types of DTCA for prescription medication:
Reminder and help-seeking ads are often used by drugmakers to bypass the more onerous restrictions (such as the required listing of side effects), or outright prohibitions on product claims advertising, as neither of them are focused on promoting the drug itself. Sometimes, a campaign may mix both of these ads, with one ad discussing the condition, and another, similarly-styled ad, mentioning the product but not the condition, seeking to have the viewer infer the association between the ads.
Supporters of direct-to-consumer advertising argue that advertisements increase competition which leads to lower prescription drug prices and new development, citing, for instance, that between 1997 and 2001, spending on research and development in the U.S. increased 59% while spending on promoting drugs directly to patients increased 145%. However, other experts have asserted that funding for R&D is determined by several other factors. Direct-to-consumer advertising, among other patient education initiatives, can educate consumers and patients about new treatments and therapeutic options that may not have been proactively mentioned by their healthcare professional. Proponents of DTCA claim this provides a vital opportunity for the public to be aware of what is available to them and to engage in an educated discussion with their doctor. A study observed that direct-to-consumer advertising promotes communication between patients and their doctors about medications. Thirty percent of Americans indicated they talk with their doctor about a medicine they saw on TV. In addition, surveys showed that increased advertising has had a positive impact on the degree to which people adhere to a given course of treatment – but only among those who were already on medication prior to exposure to direct-to-consumer advertising. Among this population, a 10% increase in exposure to drug advertising increases the rate of adherence between 1% and 2%.
It has been argued that direct-to-consumer advertising can influence the doctor–patient relationship, including patients bringing up their need for an advertised, name-brand drug as their primary concern during a doctor visit, and becoming interested in newly-introduced medications that may not have undergone sufficient postmarketing surveillance. It has been demonstrated that direct-to-consumer ads have contributed to the frequency of requests made by patients towards their physicians to prescribe analgesic drugs, including opioids. A patient's request for a specific medication dramatically increases the rate at which physicians prescribe usually more expensive, branded drugs even when treatment for existing indications does not warrant such use. Pharmaceutical companies have also faced allegations of "disease mongering"—the process of promoting awareness of minor conditions such as balding and skin wrinkles in such a way that it encourages the sale of treatments for them.
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Direct-to-consumer advertising
Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) refers to the marketing and advertising of pharmaceutical products directly to consumers as patients, as opposed to specifically targeting health professionals. The term is synonymous primarily with the advertising of prescription medicines via mass media platforms—most commonly on television and in magazines, but also via online platforms.
Direct-to-consumer advertising is only completely legal in New Zealand and the United States, but are subject to regulations regarding the balanced disclosure of a prescription's benefits in comparison to its risks (including but not limited to side effects and contraindications), among other factors. Regulations regarding DTCA are typically applied to advertising materials that describe a prescription's indications and benefits, and may be more lenient to advertising materials which do not discuss uses. Many countries ban any advertising of prescription drugs directly to consumers.
There are ethical and regulatory concerns regarding DTCA, specifically the extent to which these ads may unduly influence the prescribing of the prescriptions based on consumer demands when, in some cases, they may not be medically necessary, or there are cheaper options available. Critics of DTCA have argued that too much is spent on marketing medications, rather than into research and development; in the United States, ad spending by drugmakers reached US$5.2 billion in 2016.
As outlined by Science Daily in 2009, the impact of DTC media on technology-assisted health behaviors is demonstrated by the increasing number of consumers making critical medical decisions informed primarily by online health information.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines several common types of DTCA for prescription medication:
Reminder and help-seeking ads are often used by drugmakers to bypass the more onerous restrictions (such as the required listing of side effects), or outright prohibitions on product claims advertising, as neither of them are focused on promoting the drug itself. Sometimes, a campaign may mix both of these ads, with one ad discussing the condition, and another, similarly-styled ad, mentioning the product but not the condition, seeking to have the viewer infer the association between the ads.
Supporters of direct-to-consumer advertising argue that advertisements increase competition which leads to lower prescription drug prices and new development, citing, for instance, that between 1997 and 2001, spending on research and development in the U.S. increased 59% while spending on promoting drugs directly to patients increased 145%. However, other experts have asserted that funding for R&D is determined by several other factors. Direct-to-consumer advertising, among other patient education initiatives, can educate consumers and patients about new treatments and therapeutic options that may not have been proactively mentioned by their healthcare professional. Proponents of DTCA claim this provides a vital opportunity for the public to be aware of what is available to them and to engage in an educated discussion with their doctor. A study observed that direct-to-consumer advertising promotes communication between patients and their doctors about medications. Thirty percent of Americans indicated they talk with their doctor about a medicine they saw on TV. In addition, surveys showed that increased advertising has had a positive impact on the degree to which people adhere to a given course of treatment – but only among those who were already on medication prior to exposure to direct-to-consumer advertising. Among this population, a 10% increase in exposure to drug advertising increases the rate of adherence between 1% and 2%.
It has been argued that direct-to-consumer advertising can influence the doctor–patient relationship, including patients bringing up their need for an advertised, name-brand drug as their primary concern during a doctor visit, and becoming interested in newly-introduced medications that may not have undergone sufficient postmarketing surveillance. It has been demonstrated that direct-to-consumer ads have contributed to the frequency of requests made by patients towards their physicians to prescribe analgesic drugs, including opioids. A patient's request for a specific medication dramatically increases the rate at which physicians prescribe usually more expensive, branded drugs even when treatment for existing indications does not warrant such use. Pharmaceutical companies have also faced allegations of "disease mongering"—the process of promoting awareness of minor conditions such as balding and skin wrinkles in such a way that it encourages the sale of treatments for them.