Drug Ads Often Gloss Over Side Effects, Enlist Doctor Endorsements

May 23, 2012 (Press-News.org) Prescription drug advertisements have become ubiquitous in United States' media, including television and magazines. Unfortunately, these ads may be ultimately misleading about potential side effects, placing patients at risk.

How Drug Marketing Campaigns Portray Side Effects

Drug companies use several techniques to downplay the side effects of the potentially dangerous drugs they are advertising.

First, a drug company may enlist a celebrity to endorse its product. For example, the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel is promoted by professional golfer Phil Mikelson. In these types of advertisements, the side effects of the drugs are disclosed in a quickly delivered voiceover toward the end of the commercial. Other drug advertisements, like those for Celebrex, place a lot of emphasis on the benefits of the drug while downplaying serious side effects like heart attack or stroke.

Another common technique is enlisting the endorsement of an actual physician, who may agree to recommend drugs in exchange for board membership, lectureship and even consulting fees.

Doctors' Drug Endorsements Affect Patient Care

When doctors endorse a drug for money or other personal benefits, however, the exchange can affect the type of care patients receive. An investigation by the New York Times found that a quarter of all doctors accept cash for their endorsement of prescription drugs and a whopping two-thirds accept other compensation, like meals or speaking engagements, for endorsements.

Unfortunately, this type of relationship between physicians and drug companies can affect the medical decisions of the endorsing physicians. Physicians who endorse a certain medication are more likely to prescribe those medications when an alternative treatment would be more medically appropriate. In some instances, the New York Times found that physicians in this situation were more apt to prescribe antipsychotic drugs to children, for whom the drugs are not approved.

Obama's Health Care Law to Provide More Transparency

Fortunately, there are provisions in the new health care bill which will make the relationships between physicians and drug companies more transparent to the public. The law requires drug companies which pay doctors for endorsements for any drug or medical device covered by Medicare or Medicaid to report the relationships to the government. The Obama administration estimates that the law will affect over one thousand drug companies.

When drug companies downplay serious side effects which could cause injury, it leaves them vulnerable to lawsuits claiming they were negligent in their duty to warn against potential side effects. It may also be possible for injured patients to sue if a product is found to be defective. If you have been injured by one of your prescription drugs and feel you did not receive a clear explanation of the drug's potent side effects, please consult an experienced personal injury attorney to explore your legal options.

Article provided by Thomas Q. Keefe, Jr., P.C.
Visit us at http://www.tqkeefe.com/