Unless you are very young you can probably remember a time before we had TV commercials for prescription drugs. Personally I wish we could go back to those good old days.
I think these commercials are a bad thing. I'll bet doctors hate them, because lots of patients are coming in to their offices, virtually demanding to be given this or that drug that they saw advertised on TV. Certainly it takes time and, probably, patience on the part of the doctor if s/he does not feel the drug is appropriate for the patient.
Also, it's always the brand-name drugs (as opposed to generics) that are advertised on TV. These sometimes are very expensive. Example: I happen to know that one of the drugs for rheumatoid arthritis that is advertised on TV costs about $1000 per month.
So, these ads, along with their outcome of patients demanding the brand-name drugs, mean more money for the drug companies. More money for the pharmacies. More money for the TV stations. And probably more nuisance for doctors.
The advertising rightly should be directed toward the doctors, and of course it is, with ads in journals that doctors read plus "representatives" (i.e., salesmen) making calls on doctors in their offices. I am sure that, even without patients coming in and requesting them, doctors are already well aware of any drug that means big money for its manufacturer.
Copyright (c) 2012 by Richard Stein
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