Pharmaceutical Advertisements Encourage Patients to Ask Physicians about Products
Advertisements for prescription drugs and medical procedures have prompted many patients to ask their physicians about a specific drug or procedure, according to the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Institute for Good Medicine’s Patient Poll.
Forty-five percent of Pennsylvania adults polled said they have talked to their physicians about a drug or procedure that they saw advertised on television or in a magazine. The poll comes 10 years after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began allowing television pharmaceutical ads directed at consumers.
Just because patients see a brand name drug advertised doesn’t mean that they end up getting the brand name drug. Most respondents (62 percent) said they believe brand name and generic versions are about the same, and 53 percent have asked their doctor to prescribe generic instead of brand name.
Peter Lund, MD, founder of the Institute for Good Medicine, said physicians should be prepared for questions about specific drugs or treatments that are talked about in the media.
Last Updated: 10/4/2007