Survey suggesting that prescription drug ads help public is met with skepticism.

Abstract

IN THE HALF-DOZEN YEARS SINCE THE US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eased restrictions on directto-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs, the practice has proliferated—and so has the controversy surrounding it. Proponents have claimed DTC advertising educates the public to make more informed medical choices, while critics charge that aggressive marketing campaigns encourage patients to demand newer, more expensive, and sometimes inappropriate medications. Preliminary findings released last month from a new FDA survey on the practice are unlikely to lessen the controversy. The agency says that the survey, which it conducted in 2002, found that many physicians are comfortable practicing in a world with DTC advertising of prescription drugs. “The results confirm that DTC advertising, when done correctly, can serve positive public health functions such as increasing patient awareness of diseases that can be treated, and prompting thoughtful discussions with physicians that result in needed treatments being prescribed—often, not the treatment in the DTC advertisement,” the FDA stated in a “Talk Paper” summarizing the survey’s findings, which is available at http://www.fda.gov/bbs /topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01189 .html. “This study also demonstrated that most physicians view DTC advertisements as one of many factors that affect their practice and their interactions with patients, both positively and, in some respects, negatively.” But critics of the study say the FDA is overly optimistic in its interpretation of the results, and question whether the study design permits drawing definitive conclusions from the data.