When it comes to health care, who do you trust?
Do you rely on the advice of medical professionals, your own informed research, television advertisements for prescription drugs and medical devices, or some combination of the above?
The American Medical Association (AMA), which represents doctors, recently voted in favor of a ban on what is known as direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs and medical devices.
You probably have seen the ads; you may be among viewers who are alienated, or amused, by the litany of side effects.
The AMA is not amused. Although only Congress or the federal Food and Drug Administration is authorized to ban pharmaceutical advertising, the association's House of Delegates voted to call for the ban.
AMA board chair-elect Patrice A. Harris said the "vote in support of an advertising ban reflects concerns among physicians about the negative impact of commercially-driven promotions, and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices. Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate."
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America disagrees. The trade group's Tina Stow said the ads offer "scientifically accurate information to patients so that they are better informed about their health care and treatment options." In addition, she said, the ads lead to "important doctor-patient conversations about health that might otherwise not take place."
As a rule, we support efforts to help the public become better informed. The case can be made, however, that the ads are designed primarily to persuade.
And persuasion on health care choices prior to, or in the absence of, a conversation with a physician is not healthy or wise.
The rising costs of prescription drugs also supports the AMA's proposed ban.
Justin Wm. Moyer reported Thursday in the Washington Post: "Though some forms of DTC drug advertising has been permitted for decades, regulatory changes the FDA made to guidelines in 1997 made such spots ubiquitous. Within a decade, the industry's budget for DTC ads ballooned from little more than $300 million to more than $3 billion."
That steep rise in costs is making it difficult, or prohibitive, for some patients to afford the drugs their doctors prescribe.
DTC advertising may be healthy for the pharmaceutical industry, but its value to patients is questionable and a known side effect is higher prices.