Direct to Consumer Advertising and Prescription Choice

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

Starting consumers off on the "path to purchase" by encouraging them to seek more information is a major goal of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription medications. But the authors found that a consumer's attitude toward DTC advertising can determine which of several paths he or she is likely to take. The attitudes of older adults are especially significant for pharmaceutical mar...

Direct-to- Consumer Advertising of Prescription

The rising costs of health care have forced changes in institutions that provide health care services to patients. Doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and drug manufacturers have changed business practices to trim costs and maximize profits. One practice exploited by pharmaceutical companies is the freedom to advertise prescription drug products.' Direct-to-consumer advertising can effecti...

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising: trends, impact, and implications.

We provide an overview of what is known about the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. Specifically, we explore the historical trends that led to the industry's increasing use of this form of promotion. Then, using the published literature to date, we review the impact of DTC advertising on the consumer, the medical profession, and the health care system. We con...

Clinicians' responses to direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications.

BACKGROUND The direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medications is proliferating in the United States. The relationship between patient exposure to DTCA and the response of clinicians is not well understood. METHODS A randomized postal survey of Arizona primary care provider physicians (n = 1080) and physician assistants (n = 704) was conducted. A questionnaire was created us...