For Jess Myrick’s guest lecture, we discussed the topic of health
communication and ethics. According to Healthy People 2010, health communication can be defined as “the art and technique of informing,
influencing and motivating audiences about important health issues. Health
communication includes disease prevention, health promotion, health care
policy, and the business of health care as well as the enhancement of the
quality of life and heath of individuals.” As a side note, Healthy People 2010
is a program of nationwide health-promotion goals set by the United States
Department of Health and Human Services.
During her lecture, Jess discussed the myriad of ethical issues that have arisen within the medical industry. One of
which I wish to discuss further is pharmaceutical advertising/marketing.
The United States is one of only two countries (the other is
New Zealand) which allows direct pharmaceutical advertising to consumers. In Europe,
for example, it is illegal to advertise pharmaceuticals in magazine and other
media outlets. But in the United States, where the advertising culture is
seemingly dominated by massive companies, it is commonplace to see advertisements
for pharmaceutical drugs during every television commercial break or throughout
a magazine. As Jess read in class, during 2004 the pharmaceutical industry spent
$57.5 Billion on promotion with $4 billion of it going to direct-to-consumer advertising.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs
has increased rapidly in the United States during the last two decades, but it
is a very controversial method. It is a form of advertising that is directed towards
patients rather than healthcare professionals. Previously,
prescription drug makers promoted their products only to health care
professionals who were expected to interpret drug information for their
patients. However, during the 1990s, drug manufacturers began targeting
consumers which affected how professionals interacted with their patients. According
to ABC news,
opponents of DTC advertising say that ads are often not for life-threatening
and treatable diseases, but rather for lifestyle problems. Opponents also cite “ethical
issues when a doctor accepts promotional products from pharmaceutical
companies.” In fact, a study conducted by the National Institute of health
showed that DTC advertising is likely to increase the request rates of drugs
and that real-life and long-term safety is at risk.
Individuals on the others side of the debate say that
pharmaceutical ads “inform consumers about important, yet treatable health
conditions and encourage doctor/patient dialogue.” They see that lower-income
consumers gain valuable information and consumers get an improved quality of
care.
Yet, I believe that pharmaceutical advertising needs a
dramatic change in what it presents to the public. I also believe that DTC
advertising should entirely be banned. These advertisements take advantage of
the consumers and are intended to put pressure onto the professionals. Larry
Woodard, CEO of Vigilante, a New York-based advertising agency, says that he
would like to see “pharmaceutical companies take a bigger role in promoting
health prevention with more community and faith-based efforts.” On the matter,
he also mentioned that because drug companies receive taxpayer subsidies, their
marketing efforts would “ring more true if we could believe they really have
our best interests in mind.”
The future of pharmaceutical advertising and the
direct-to-consumer form is a complicated and uncertain one. Companies are facing tighter adverting
restrictions from the FDA, due in part to their questionable ethics, as well as
the evolution of new media which brings competition. Instead of relying on
print or television advertisements, consumers are now researching health
information online, on such platforms as WebMD. In fact, in 2008, over 145 million U.S.
adults looked up health information online as individuals saw these websites as
“independent, objective medical resources.”
On a last note, it is my hope that as technology evolves and
pharmaceutical companies face competition from new sources of health
information, pharmaceutical advertising will become ethical better. DTC
advertising is not safe for consumers and should be more rigorously regulated
by the FDA.
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