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Direct-to-consumer Advertising (direct-to-consumer + advertising)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	60%

Selected Abstracts

What Explains the Use of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs?

THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2004
Toshiaki Iizuka
Following the clarification of advertising regulation in 1997, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs has skyrocketed in the U.S., creating a controversy over the role of DTCA. Little is known, however, regarding what affects firms' advertising decisions and which drugs have been advertised to consumers. Using brand-level advertising data, I examine the determinants of DTCA of prescription drugs. I find that drugs that are new, of high quality, and for under-treated diseases are more frequently advertised. Furthermore, advertising outlays decrease with competition. These results complement the demand-side evidence that DTCA has a market-expanding effect but little business-stealing effect. [source]

Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals: developed countries experiences and Turkey

HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2007
Semih Semin MD PhD
Abstract While several major problems concerning drugs occur in the world, the attempts to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has gained a considerable impetus lately in both developed and developing countries. DTCA has increasingly become an appealing advertising alternative for the pharmaceutical industry as drug companies have come to wrestle with such problems as the expansion of the drug market; the decline of the medical representatives' work efficiency; drug reimbursement restrictions; and the escalating role of the Internet in the consumer market. Some of the main disadvantages of the DTCA are: increasing drug expenditures, unnecessary drug consumption and adverse effect risks. Even though the influence of pharmaceuticals on health services and the economy hold the same importance in the developed and developing countries, its negative consequences have increased by encompassing developing countries in its grip. Therefore, in this review, using Turkey as an example, the situation of direct-to-consumer advertisements in developing countries is analysed in relation with developed countries. [source]

Caught in the Act?

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 6 2006
Consequences of Physician Detection of Unannounced Standardized Patients, Predictors, Prevalence
Objective. To examine the prevalence, predictors, and consequences of physician detection of unannounced standardized patients (SPs) in a study of the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising on treatment for depression. Data Sources. Eighteen trained SPs were randomly assigned to conduct 298 unannounced audio-recorded visits with 152 primary care physicians in three U.S. cities between May 2003 and May 2004. Study Design. Randomized controlled trial using SPs. SPs portrayed six roles, created by crossing two clinical conditions (major depression or adjustment disorder) with three medication request scripts (brand-specific request, general request for an antidepressant, or no request). Data Collection. Within 2 weeks following the visit, physicians completed a form asking whether they "suspected" conducting an office visit with an SP during the past 2 weeks; 296 (99 percent) detection forms were returned. Physicians provided contextual data, a Clinician Background Questionnaire. SPs filled in a Standardized Patient Reporting Form for each visit and returned all written prescriptions and medication samples to the laboratory. Principal Findings. Depending on the definition, detection rates ranged from 5 percent (unambiguous detection) to 23.6 percent (any degree of suspicion) of SP visits. In 12.8 percent of encounters, physicians accurately detected the SP before or during the visit but they only rarely believed their suspicions affected their clinical behavior. In random effects logistic regression analyses controlling for role, actor, physician, and practice factors, suspected visits occurred less frequently in HMO settings than in solo practice settings (p<.05). Physicians more frequently referred SPs to mental health professionals when visits aroused high suspicion (p<.05). Conclusions. Trained actors portrayed patient roles conveying mood disorders at low levels of detection. There was some evidence for differential treatment of detected standardized patients by physicians with regard to referrals but not antidepressant prescribing or follow-up recommendations. Systematic assessment of detection is recommended when SPs are used in studies of clinical process and quality of care. [source]