Quote:
Originally Posted by WildHeart69
^This is not the case... detailing drugs to physicians is completely legal and is always done. The "promotion" you are speaking of is that in the form of pens, clocks, mugs, etc that display the name of the drug, and promotional spend for lunches for nurses and office staff... and even in this case, there is no "legislation" that bars this practice; there are "guidelines" that have been put in place that outline the desired practices for drug companies as far as how they can promote their products in this manner, but these guideline are not really laws. Drug companies follow them, however, because they all kind of keep each other in check and nobody wants to be the one to "break code" because it will look bad for the company...
And as far as direct to consumer ads, I would sort of agree for the most part... but the main reason they do it is because of the type of system we have in place and simply because this is the only country in which they CAN air them (besides New Zealand...but thats another story). You can hear one group of doctors that DO like DTC, one that doesnt, one that says that they aren't influenced by what their patients come in asking about, and some that say they are.... but I think the bottom line is if these ads WEREN'T boosting sales, then they wouldn't be airing them (or printing them in magazines, etc...).
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Well, yes, I should clarify that it is more of a witch hunt than "legislation." Even if a drug company is working completely within its legal bounds, even the threat of a consent decree or an investigation means years and millions of $$ trying to defend yourself. And doctor detailing is strictly educational in nature; however, the reality is that doctors have tended to deny facetime with reps if there is no incentive, e.g., free lunch, knick knacks, etc. Accordingly, the marketing departments of big pharma have shrunken considerably since all of this has come to pass...
A side effect of more DTC pharm ads is that there is a heightened sense of awareness about personal health. It can only be a good thing IMO. Sure, there are hypochondriacs. But they were around long before DTC ads came into existence.