I recently read an article in High Country News about a fellow who said his mom was so proud of him. He had become a doctor. And he didn’t even go to med school. All he had to do was to watch TV. As a result, he learned about depression, dry eyes, restless leg syndrome….you know the ads.
Are these ads good for consumers? Are they bad? Do these ads benefit patients by bringing them medications or technology that their doctors perhaps would have overlooked? In my practice I see many patients that are on ‘these’ medications. Would they use Restasis if it was non-covered by their insurance or would patients simply use Visine.
What I’ve seen with my patients is that the marketing of these medications has been very effective. So much so that many of my patients now seem to have restless leg syndrome when perhaps they didn’t know that they had had it in the past.
Most importantly is the cost of these medications. For the most part, doctors are kept out of the loop in terms of cost. We have no idea how much a prescription cost should a patient try to pay out-of-pocket. How does a pharmaceutical company fund a TV ad campaign? I think you see the point I’m trying to make. Direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to consumers isn’t done to help them solve their medical problems. It’s marketing and marketing is done to sell.
Jeff
