Posted by Terry8 on June 15, 2011, at 6:37:13
In reply to Re: Direct-to-consumer advertising in the US, posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 15, 2011, at 1:24:30
> Have to say that I think its a bad idea - anyone can diagnose them selves with a headache and prescribe a couple of Advil, or diagnose them self with a cold and self prescribe some Sudafed, but realy, can people self diagnose with depression, bipolar, high cholesterol and all the other ills the drug makers peddle?
I'm not a fan of direct-to-consumer drug advertising either, but I've never gotten the feeling that the ads are encouraging people to self-diagnose depression or high cholesterol or the like. More of a: "Been diagnosed with depression? Have you talked to your doctor about XYZ drug? We make creepy wind-up toys happy!" Or "Are you still having trouble with your [insert chronic condition here]? There's hope! Talk to your doctor about [insert expensive on-patent drug here]!" I think they do prey in particular on people who have chronic problems that are hard to fully treat with current pharmaceuticals, but I think the issue is less self-diagnosis than trying to convince people that the new drug they haven't tried yet is going to be a better treatment than what their doctor is already using.
poster:Terry8
thread:988158
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110610/msgs/988185.html