AP reports that the American Medical Association has called for a ban on direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs and implantable medical devices, saying they contribute to rising costs and patients' demands for inappropriate treatment. According to data cited in an AMA news release, ad dollars spent by drugmakers have risen to $4.5 billion in the last two years, a 30 percent increase. Physicians cited concerns that a growing proliferation of ads is driving demand for expensive treatments despite the clinical effectiveness of less costly alternatives. "Today's vote in support of an advertising ban reflects concerns among physicians about the negative impact of commercially-driven promotions, and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices," said AMA Board Chair-elect Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. "Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate."
The AMA also calls for convening a physician task force and launching an advocacy campaign to promote prescription drug affordability by demanding choice and competition in the pharmaceutical industry, and greater transparency in prescription drug prices and costs. Last month, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report saying that a high cost of prescription drugs remains the public's top health care priority. In the past few years, prices on generic and brand-name prescription drugs have steadily risen and experienced a 4.7 percent spike in 2015, according to the Altarum Institute Center for Sustainable Health Spending.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bziman on Wednesday November 18 2015, @06:53PM
Recently, I've been seeing ads on TV for Neulasta, which helped keep me alive a few years back, and at the time, ran somewhere in excess of $10,000 a dose. Amgen spends over $200 million a year on advertising. No one is going to go out and buy Neulasta for fun. And if you're getting chemotherapy, chances are, your doctor already knows about it. It's unethical to waste hundreds of millions of dollars a year on advertising and then charge people through the nose for life-saving medicine.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 18 2015, @07:54PM
This is part of having a monopoly.
In a monopoly spending money (ANY money) can help your bottom line.
Wahhhhat? You might ask.
In a monopoly marginal cost dictates the real price. It will not be the optimum market price. But the max profit price for the monopoly. So literally if you make something more expensive to make you can increase your profits. Advertising is considered a fixed cost usually.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 18 2015, @08:16PM
Cool story, brah. But what is most important is how we can stop the atrocities committed by ArchLinux users so that mothers like this [examiner.com] no longer have to apologize for the antics of their sons.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Subsentient on Thursday November 19 2015, @12:24AM
Easy. We get a chainsaw, fire it up, hold you down, and slowly insert it into your rectum.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti