Healthcare communications and marketing news and information

According to a recent study (sponsored by Pfizer), direct-to-consumer advertising has fans within the African American physician community.  A survey of 322 members of the National Medical Association (NMA), an African American medical society, reveals that NMA members believe:

-DTC Advertising Has Positive Benefits: The majority of respondents said that drug advertising is beneficial for patients, physicians, managed care organizations, government health organizations and pharmaceutical companies

-DTC Advertising Is Educational: 80% of respondents said that it helps make patients aware of treatment options, alerts them to medical problems earlier (64%) and promotes better patient education about diseases (58%)

-DTC Advertising Enhances The Patient-Provider Relationship

However, there is more to this story.  Many NMA physicians believe DTC ads negatively impact the patient-provider relationship because they:

-Make people think that medicines work better than they do (76%)

-Confuse people about the relative risks and benefits of medications (76%)

-Increase patient second-guessing or questions about a diagnosis (65%)

-Pressure physicians to prescribe a specific medicine (54%)

Overall, NMA docs think drug companies need to develop DTC ads that address the needs of the African American community.  

The NMA submitted its research to the FDA’s DTC advertising docket.