Pharmaceutical Companies Market Medications to Increase Utilization!

In direct-to-consumer or DTC advertising, marketers are appealing directly to the consumers, instead of the physicians. So, instead of telling the doctors that the medicine would be great for the patents, the marketers, in a way, tell the patients that the drug is great, and that they need to tell about this to the doctor.  DTC advertising of drugs may be justified on the ground that it makes the patients aware of their treatment plans and as such, they feel more engaged and empowered in their healthcare.

However, the practice could drive higher prescription drug costs and overprescribing of branded products while cheaper alternatives are available. Moreover, the marketers may exaggerate treatment benefits, under-emphasize the associated risks and promote their branded drugs over lifestyle changes. Doctors too often counter DTC efforts of the pharmaceutical companies, they say that it may leave the patients misinformed and may lead to overutilization of the drug.

For many pharmaceutical companies, their spending on marketing efforts exceeds the research budget. This increases the overall cost of the medicines for the customers, which may result in decreased sales of the medication, so the overall effect of huge marketing budget could prove to be counterproductive if drug prices are not kept reasonable and competitive. Marketing practices like free samples, promoting drugs directly to physicians, detailing to hospitals and advertising directly to the users can negatively affect the patients  and pharmacies as these marketing costs add up to the costing of medicine.