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I'm a doctor, and I think this is a good idea. The information provided to both doctors and patients by drug companies is marketing material. The best source of information is peer-reviewed publications, and even those are subject to some bias. Still, that's the best source we have, and should be the primary way all of us get health care information. If you, as a patient, do not understand what the reasearch articles…
Over and over people on HN come to the defense of advertising. Doctors tend to be Republican and free-market adherents. So why would they be against drug advertising? "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Upton Sinclair
Where did you get this idea from?
I'm a doctor, and I think this is a good idea. The information provided to both doctors and patients by drug companies is marketing material. The best source of information is peer-reviewed publications, and even those are subject to some bias. Still, that's the best source we have, and should be the primary way all of us get health care information. If you, as a patient, do not understand what the reasearch articles…
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I've never understood the logic behind prescription drug ads. The first rule of sales is to pitch the decision maker. You can't buy prescription drugs without a doctor's authorization, so basically the ads are asking people to go beg their doctors for medicine they may, or may not, need. The doctor, in turn, may give in to the patient's emotional pleas, since they are, in effect, in a customer service business. This…
> I've never understood the logic behind prescription drug ads. The first rule of sales is to pitch the decision maker. "Surveys conducted by FDA and private organizations consistently show that DTC advertisements have an impact on whether consumers request and receive a specific brand-name prescription from their physician. [...] In several of these surveys, consumers were asked whether they had seen an advertisemen…
I've never understood the logic behind prescription drug ads. The first rule of sales is to pitch the decision maker. You can't buy prescription drugs without a doctor's authorization, so basically the ads are asking people to go beg their doctors for medicine they may, or may not, need. The doctor, in turn, may give in to the patient's emotional pleas, since they are, in effect, in a customer service business. This…
> I've never understood the logic behind prescription drug ads. The first rule of sales is to pitch the decision maker. "Surveys conducted by FDA and private organizations consistently show that DTC advertisements have an impact on whether consumers request and receive a specific brand-name prescription from their physician. [...] In several of these surveys, consumers were asked whether they had seen an advertisemen…
This is true only if corporate executives are amoral automatons running hill-climbing algorithms. Rather than, say, citizens who use logic to make responsible decisions not just for their short-term profits but for the long-term good of their community.
I've never understood the logic behind prescription drug ads. The first rule of sales is to pitch the decision maker. You can't buy prescription drugs without a doctor's authorization, so basically the ads are asking people to go beg their doctors for medicine they may, or may not, need. The doctor, in turn, may give in to the patient's emotional pleas, since they are, in effect, in a customer service business. This…
Plenty of logic is there.
Part of the purpose is to make the Doctor pay attention to the advertising that they see in a journal. [1]
How?
Patient goes in and "asks their doctor" about a drug.
Then another patient. And another.
So now when the doctor sees an ad (or the detail man comes in) the doctor pays more attention and perks up. Similar I guess to the way once you buy a particular car model (or a friend buys one) you start to notice them all over the place. Same reason Pepsi puts ads in football stadiums. Builds general awareness and adds to reinforcement of the product as being "current".
HN works in a similar way for YC by the way. Repetition and current relevance very important in advertising.
[1] Edit: And of course Physicians also watch TV and read mainstream magazines and an ad is likely to stand out and get noticed just for that. (As a tech person imagine if you saw an ad for some software or SAAS that wasn't mainstream on the nightly news. It would certainly get your attention and stand out (more than if you saw it on Techmeme)).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This has positives, as consumers can be more active participants in their health, but can also lead to people shopping for doctors who will prescribe the drugs that they want based on flimsy research and marketing. Turns out, people suck at being intelligent healthcare consumers. Its not their fault though. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02/upshot/why-consumers-often... http://www.nber.org/papers/w21160 Disclaimer:…
Demonstrating that consumers have trouble with insurance decisions implies nothing about their ability to make care decisions.
I encourage you to call your three closest hospitals, pick three surgical procedures, and ask them what the cash rate is from their chargemaster. You may get an answer from one hospital, possibly.
Most of the drugs I see are ED/PE related and yes you can get prescriptions.
Still in the end, if we are going to allow untested by the FDA and others supplements to be advertised then why would we block drugs which have passed rigid testing from being advertised. Sorry, that would make zero sense.