Tuesday, May 31, 2005
"Stop misleading the public. Tell the truth."
Simple, yet difficult to enforce, in direct-to-consumer advertising. The FDA made this bed, it's their mess to clean up. Easier to ban DTC advertising outright.
Simple, yet difficult to enforce, in direct-to-consumer advertising. The FDA made this bed, it's their mess to clean up. Easier to ban DTC advertising outright.
Posted by Kevin |
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Comments:
Unfortunately, the FDA punishments barely take a cut out out of the revenues these ads bring in. And since the drug co.'s are making so much on the new prescriptions and their marketing techniques, they're going to fight any effort to stop or even slightly tweak how they do business.
This isn't unlike what we see in environmental regulations, where companies decide it costs less to keep paying fines than it does to follow the regulations.
This isn't unlike what we see in environmental regulations, where companies decide it costs less to keep paying fines than it does to follow the regulations.
Even more unfortunately, the drug companies are likely to be the next beneficiaries of tort reform. Without punitive damages, those same companies simply decide it costs less to pay the few suits that are filed than it does to change their practices. They've already tried to squeeze it in a couple of times with homeland security related laws.
# posted by 
: 3:45 PM
: 3:45 PM
You ran a story on BMJ's "money-back guarantee" for drugs. That could really work, especially if consumers were spending and thus getting back their own dollars rather than third party coverage. Wouldn't this give companies incentives to be truthful?
In a free society, shouldn't drug companies be able to sell their product. But shouldn't consumers be free to demand money money-back guarantees. And shouldn't physicians be free to offer their advice to consumers for a price.
Then, DTC marketing works with the physician to give the consumer information and choice in healthcare. The drug companies put their best foot forward on TV and physicians can be cautious in the clinic, but at the end of the day, the consumer is free to take the pill or get her money-back.
Isn't this better, in a free society, than outlawing behavior?
Trapier
www.isemmelweis.com
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In a free society, shouldn't drug companies be able to sell their product. But shouldn't consumers be free to demand money money-back guarantees. And shouldn't physicians be free to offer their advice to consumers for a price.
Then, DTC marketing works with the physician to give the consumer information and choice in healthcare. The drug companies put their best foot forward on TV and physicians can be cautious in the clinic, but at the end of the day, the consumer is free to take the pill or get her money-back.
Isn't this better, in a free society, than outlawing behavior?
Trapier
www.isemmelweis.com
