Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

arstechnica.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 329 posts

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#151

Post by alkonaut »

tosseraccount wrote: post #118
alkonaut wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"never" was the wrong choice of word. In general there are many cases when patients are not able to make a rational decision. And rarely, if ever, a better decision than a doctor will.

I think people can be trusted to run their own lives without constant supervision by certified professionals. Britain for instance allows over the counter medicine that's illegal in the US. Is there some mass irrationality going on over there?

> trusted to run their own lives

Most of the time yes, but this is about creating a functioning market. I don't think people can be trusted to create a functioning market for products they sometimes can't set a monetary value on (if they are ill) and sometimes don't understand (because they aren't doctors).

> Britain for instance allows over the counter medicine that's illegal in the US.

I'd guess there is medicine that is allowed over the counter in the US that would be prescription in the US. But the bulk is probably the same.

I fail to see how not being able to tell my doctor he should provide me with a specific prescription medication is detrimental to how I run my life.

Healthcare costs need to be held down, most importantly in single payer systems, but it's quite important in insurance based systems too.

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#153

Post by masterleep »

wpietri wrote: post #92
masterleep wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad we agree on that.

When someone values their personal notions and pet theories over the addiction and death of millions, it mainly looks creepy to me.

Not a big fan of the Enlightenment, eh?

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#154

Post by ansible »

wpietri wrote: post #75
Alex3917 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> The data doesn't care whether or not you see the logic behind it. 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.

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.

Well, the system we have now really encourages that short-term, profit-finding behavior for corporations and the people who make decisions in them.

Many of the side-effects are just not part of the accounting, and therefore are not important to investors.

Money, money, money.

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#155

Post by enraged_camel »

Igglyboo wrote: post #102
zzzeek wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People should be free to buy chemicals at will. this would introduce a myriad of acute public health issues and do great harm to the public good, costing taxpayers billions of dollars for remediation. Edit: the DHHS's report on prescription medication abuse is good reading in this area: http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/hhs_prescription_drug_ab...

I really don't think it would, alcohol is pretty heavily used in the USA and it's a pretty dangerous substance. There are definitely more dangerous drugs than alcohol but legalization of all drugs isn't going to destroy society.

Are you not aware that 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes every year in the US and that alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death?

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-con...

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#157

Post by jerf »

jessriedel wrote: post #112
phren0logy wrote: post #32

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…

This logic applies to all consumer products. The best way to tell which car is safer is to read the original cash-test reports. Furthermore, if you make a mistake in choosing your car, there is some chance you'll die as a result. Should we ban car commercial? Even car commercials that merely report (as they usually do) summaries of the crash-test reports ("best is class safety!", "4 stars from the car insurance safet…

Cars are already heavily regulated. The minimum-legal car may not be comfortable and may not be pretty, but it'll be pretty darned safe and be decently efficient (considering the amount of material it is hauling around to be that safe). You can't advertise a death trap because it's already illegal to sell one. It's a poor comparison to the medical world where you can not help but do dangerous things to solve even more dangerous problems.

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#158

Post by MisterBastahrd »

paxtonab wrote: post #23

One of the arguments I've commonly heard against a ban like this is that pharmaceutical companies need to market their products because of the cost developing new drugs. However, this has turned into a strategy of expanding the medical uses of already approved drugs and then marketing the "new uses". Tylenol is the perfect example of this. Everyone "knows" that it reduces the risk of heart attacks, because of the mar…

... Aspirin is what's used to reduce the risk of heart attacks.

It's also a known blood thinner. Pro wrestlers take handfuls of the stuff before matches they're supposed to be bloodied in, then cut their foreheads open with a blade. The blood loss is superficial and controlled, but it makes for drama.

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#159

Post by ejstronge »

brandonmenc wrote: post #125
aquadrop wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And now, when advertising is allowed, doctors don't have to learn those new drugs?

When there's a brand new drug for your semi-rare condition, your family doctor might not yet know such a drug even exists were it not for you seeing the ad and asking about it.

Family doctors are not likely to be treating a semi-rare condition.

To put it in programming terms, a front-end web developer would seek advice from a networking expert if her or his application was experiencing a lot of networking difficulties.

Re: Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements

#160

Post by ejstronge »

brandonmenc wrote: post #128

Are family doctors able or willing to keep up on the flood of new medicines available, each of which may only apply to a handful of their patients? Aren't drug ads, in a way, a good method for matching medicines to the people who need them? As far as I know, your family physician isn't going to call you when a new drug comes out that better treats your semi-rare, non-fatal condition - and patients aren't going to rea…

I replied to this comment elsewhere:

Family doctors are not likely to be treating a semi-rare condition.

To put it in programming terms, a front-end web developer would seek advice from a networking expert if her or his application was experiencing a lot of networking difficulties.

Further, even if your family physician is monitoring the progress of your disease, you'll likely also be seeing a specialist who will also be monitoring the progress of your disease.

Post reply on HN