Criticisms of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising are largely unwarranted, according to the Center for Technology Freedom, a Lewisville, TX-based research foundation.
DTC ads make heavy use of direct response television and space advertising.
In a new report “Who’s Afraid of Pharmaceutical Advertising?” Dr. Merrill Matthews Jr., argues that DTC advertising helps lower drug costs by forcing pharmaceutical firms to keep prices stable in order to maintain market share for newly-developed drugs that may have heightened competition as a result of wider awareness.
The report also asserts that government regulation actually inhibits development of new drugs and can keep prices high. “Competition and DTC advertising — not government regulation — creates the best possible environment in which consumers can take responsibility for their own health care.
“Informed patients don’t undermine the doctor-patient relationship, they enhance it,” said Matthews.
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