Patient Summit USA

May 2, 2013 - May 3, 2013, Philadelphia

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Direct to Consumer Advertising May Lead to Over-Diagnosis

There is around a 30% chance that direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC) could encourage the over-diagnosis and treatment of a disease, according to recent research from Cornell University.



Researchers from the US University, that included Dr. Jeff Niederdeppe,published findings in the Journal of General Internal Medicine which stated that adults that were exposed to statin television advertisements were 16% to 20% more likely to be identified with high cholesterol levels. It was also demonstrated that this percentage of individuals were 16% to 22% more likely to be using statins as a form of treatment.

Further findings indicated that a trip to the doctor asking about stations, as a result of the TV ad, often led to a prescription. More importantly, a diagnosis of high cholesterol followed by an increased statin use was common for men and women who possessed a low risk of cardiac events in the future.     

This research looked at the frequency that US American adults were exposed to DTC advertising of statin drugs on national, local and cable television between the years of 2001 – 2007. This study also sourced data on whether the individuals surveyed stated that they were diagnosed with high cholesterol, whether they had taken a statin in the previous year or not and their personal risk factors for coronary heart disease.         

A previous February 2013 literature review, as published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, looking into the effects of pharmaceutical promotion confirmed the dangers of over-diagnosis caused by DTC advertising.  Associate professor at Bentley University Dhaval Dave found that while DTC advertising of prescription drugs had various benefits, it also carried several disadvantages such as a risk of unsuitable prescriptions, poorer health outcomes and a larger amount of public spending on drugs.

He said, “There's this view that advertising these drugs to consumers may not be a good thing, that it may disrupt the meditative process between patient and physician. But at the same time, some studies show that when consumers are exposed to these ads, it may induce them to visit the physician, it may induce them to realize that there are treatments out there for their symptoms, and just that contact with the physician may be helpful. So that's surprising, because a lot of organizations have focused on the negatives of these ads.”  

Alternatively, the Cornell University study also showed that there was no direct link between individuals with higher risk of heart disease who were exposed to these ads and an increased intake of statin drugs. This indicates that more research needs to be conducted in order to determine whether there is a larger probability of over-diagnosis and treatment as a result of DTC advertising.



Patient Summit USA

May 2, 2013 - May 3, 2013, Philadelphia

Understand the patient journey to build better adherence and engagement platforms