PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Helen W. Sullivan
AU  - Kathryn J. Aikin
AU  - Jennifer Berktold
AU  - Karen L. Stein
AU  - Victoria J. Hoverman
TI  - Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising and Patient-Provider Interactions
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2020.02.190278
DP  - 2020 Mar 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 279--283
VI  - 33
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/33/2/279.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/33/2/279.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2020 Mar 01; 33
AB  - Background: Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising is prevalent and affects patient care. Previous research that examined its effect on the patient-provider relationship predates many changes in the advertising and medical landscape that have occurred in the last decade, such as the rise in online promotion and the push for value-based medicine.Methods: We conducted a nationally representative mail-push-to-web survey of 1744 US adults in 2017 to explore how patients view the effects of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising on patient-provider interactions.Results: Most respondents (76%) said they were likely to ask a health care provider about advertised drugs; 26% said they had already done so. Among the 26% of respondents who talked to a health care provider about a specific prescription drug they saw advertised, 16% said they received a prescription for the advertised drug. Few respondents (5%) reported that advertising had caused conflict with a health care provider, 16% said it had caused them to question their provider’s advice, and 23% said they were likely to look for a different provider if their provider refused to prescribe a requested brand name drug.Discussion: These results suggest that direct-to-consumer advertising is driving some patients to discuss specific products with their health care providers but that most patients do not believe advertising has a negative influence on the patient-provider interaction itself.