Can you believe what you read? I mean, really believe? How about what you hear or see? I think the older we get the more skeptical we become over what is really the truth and what is fiction in advertising. We all know the big schemes like: “get rich quick”, ponzi, and envelope-stuffing, but how about the schemes by big pharmaceutical companies to dictate prescribing habits by using “Direct-to-Consumer” (D-T-C) advertising? It’s a scheme too. After all, they have product to move… medications.
In the other “schemes”, the goal is to separate you from your money by using “greed” – as in, you will make or get more money from very little work. In the D-T-C advertising scheme, these companies are using your “ego” and “pride” to motivate you to action. The goal is to plant the seed in your mind that what symptoms you see or hear the actor portraying on the television is what you can identify as happening to you. Then, after enough times of seeing the ad, you ask your physician to prescribe that medication. So the big pharmaceutical companies are asking you to make the diagnosis and match it to their marketed drug. Based on this premise, these drug companies are asking you to play doctor with your health. Does it work? It sure does or the drug companies won’t be shoveling over billions in advertising dollars without getting a huge return on their investment. Is the public qualified to make these decisions?
The bigger question is: Does your physician yield to this advertising pressure? That’s not an easy question to answer. On one end of the spectrum are the “great” physicians. They don’t yield. They resist (or ignore) the marketing and consumer pressures and make medication decisions based on your particular condition using established medical reference or studies. In the middle of the spectrum are the “decent” physicians. They sometimes yield if they are more “flexible” with your healthcare. Flexible means: “If it’s not a big deal, then sure, we’ll try it” approach. These physicians usually have not exhausted all options before succumbing to drug company recommendations. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, there are the other physicians that will do whatever it takes to keep their patients happy and pockets lined with income. Their priority is not your healthcare, but their pockets. The sad reality is the medical profession is just like any other profession out there. There are “superstars” and there are “posers”.
While all physicians may want to think they are “superstars”, the reality is closer to being the traditional “bell” curve – where at either end are the spectrum extremes, but the middle is hugely populated with “decent” physicians. This is why the drug companies target their marketing to consumers. They know the marketplace reality, and that the majority of patients see physicians that will yield to their patient’s demands.
My small important piece of advice is this: DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK on the medication. After seeing the ad, ask your pharmacist if this medication is suited for you based on your other medications and symptoms. Based on your research with reports in hand, talk to your physician about it and let the physician make the medical decision. With two professionals evaluating your condition: medication (pharmacist) and symptoms for accurate diagnosis (physician), you can rest assured that if that medication is to be tried, it will be one that has been scrutinized and ratified based on your condition. Medication decisions should not be un-informed ones, and “informed” is not a television ad.
Until next week, be well.
Dion