Concerns over direct consumer advertising are justified

Doctors often prescribe medicines requested by patients, despite personal reservations, leading to an increase in sales at the expense of the appropriateness of prescribing. In their study in California and British Columbia, Mintzes and colleagues (p 278) found that patients requested prescriptions in 12% of surveyed visits, 42% of which were for products advertised to consumers. The prescribing rate was similar for advertised and non-advertised drugs. The authors conclude that concerns about direct consumer advertising are justified.

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Relevant Article

Influence of direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertising and patients' requests on prescribing decisions: two site cross sectional survey

Barbara Mintzes, Morris L Barer, Richard L Kravitz, Arminée Kazanjian, Ken Bassett, Joel Lexchin, Robert G Evans, Richard Pan, and Stephen A Marion
BMJ 2002 324: 278-279. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]