Decades ago, pharmaceutical company’s primary source for marketing their products were physicians and pharmacists, but today the targets are the consumers. The shift is partly due to the Federal Drug & Food (FDA), which has restricted how drug manufacturers market their products to health care professionals (Parekh, Marcus, Roberts & Raish, (2011). The DTCA is clearly a form of health communication that reaches the wide range of American, of which some argue problematic. “Direct to consumer prescription drug ads encourage people to seek medical advice from health professionals. Around 29 million patients talked with their doctors about DTC prescriptions and more than half discussed behavioral and lifestyle changes. On one hand, DTCA misinforms patients overemphasizing the benefits of the drugs. According to a survey, …show more content…
At times, health care professionals feel pressured to write a prescription for a patient that is not right for them, based on the pretense of a drug ad. The Journal of Clinical Oncology had patients request an inappropriate drug. Out of the 74% of patients that asked for an inappropriate drug, 43% of physicians felt pressured to prescribe the inappropriate drug. In contrast, patients that inquired with their doctors about a DTCA prescription drug after having an in-depth conversation had a better understanding if a drug was right for them. Reaching a mutual understanding the patient and physician could both feel comfortable and not pressured about prescribing a DTCA drug. The study findings show that DTCA pharmaceutical advertising emboldens the relationship between patient and physician. Patients are more proactive in gauging more knowledge about drugs and empower them to start a conversation with their clinician. The study concluded that patients feel more comfortable with the drugs they are taking because of their understanding of the drugs benefits as well as the many side