The Role of Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in Patient Consumerism

In 2012, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers spent more than $4 billion in the U.S. to promote their products to patients These direct-to-consumer advertisements (DTCA) are disseminated via television and radio, magazines and newspapers, and-increasingly-the Internet. DTCA has important implications for the consumerism movement in health care. High-tech media like smartphones and the growth in wireless Internet connectivity are allowing more patients to access promotional information about potentially beneficial treatments, but the lack of firm regulatory guidelines governing DTCA may lead to suboptimal treatment decisions and health and economic outcomes.