Lack of Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on the Physician-Patient Encounter in Primary Care: A SNOCAP Report
Ann Fam Med Parnes et al.
7: 41
The Article in Brief
Lack of Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on the Physician-Patient Encounter in Primary Care: A SNOCAP Report
Bennett Parnes
, and colleagues
Background Proponents of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) suggest it can inform consumers, motivate them to seek care, and help them weigh treatment options. Critics argue that DTCA provides incomplete and biased information, leads to inappropriate prescribing, and consumes time in the medical visit. This study examines the rate of patient medication inquires and their influence on primary care doctor visits.
What This Study Found In this study, patient inquiries for prescription medications were uncommon (3.5% of visits) and inquiries for advertised products were even lower (2.6%). Clinicians did not usually feel that these requests had a negative effect on the medical visit.
Implications
- The study included a large proportion of patients in lower income groups, who because of cost may be less inclined to request specific medications. Even among private practices in the study, however, the rate of medication inquiries was 7.2%, less than one-half the rate in a previous report.
- Patients and doctors may be growing accustomed to medication requests and DTCA.
- DTCA may have less effect on lower income groups.
