Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads — which rely heavily on direct marketing media — can sometimes backfire, according to wire service reports. The ads, which encourage consumers to visit specific doctors for a given drug, sometimes result in doctors prescribing other medications than those advertised.
For example, it is not unusual for a patient to visit their doctor to get a drug they saw on television, but end up getting a rival drug because the physician preferred a different product, a health industry researcher said at a drug advertising conference in New York.
A study commissioned by Time and Health magazines revealed that of consumers inspired to request a particular drug because of an ad, about one in four received a prescription from their doctor, but not necessarily for the drug they requested.
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