Abstract
As the cost of health care — particularly prescription drugs — is rising at a rate that has not been seen in a decade, the United States finds itself once again searching for new solutions to what has, until now, been an intractable problem. Drug advertising, which has almost become part of the social fabric in the United States, is an appealing and visible target. Critics point to pharmaceutical companies boosting profits by pitching pills, whereas advocates talk of empowering patients with information. With a topic that is so dominated by money and politics, it is sometimes hard to tell who is correct.
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References
Kaiser Family Foundation. Prescription Drug Trends: A Chartbook Update (Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California, November 2001).
Kaiser Family Foundation. Understanding the Effects of Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising (Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California, November 2001).
Kaiser Family Foundation. National Survey of Physicians Part II: Doctors and Prescription Drugs (Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California, March 2002).
Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. Employer Health Benefits (Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California, 2002).
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to A. Steffenson and J. Lundy, both from the Kaiser Family Foundation, for their substantial contributions to the research studies discussed in this essay. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of the Kaiser Family Foundation or its officers.
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Brodie, M., Levitt, L. Drug advertising: the right or wrong prescription for our ailments?. Nat Rev Drug Discov 1, 916–920 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd943
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd943
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