TY - JOUR T1 - Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Physicians’ Views of Its Effects on Quality of Care and the Doctor-Patient Relationship JF - The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice JO - J Am Board Fam Med SP - 513 LP - 524 DO - 10.3122/jabfm.16.6.513 VL - 16 IS - 6 AU - Elizabeth Murray AU - Bernard Lo AU - Lance Pollack AU - Karen Donelan AU - Ken Lee Y1 - 2003/11/01 UR - http://www.jabfm.org/content/16/6/513.abstract N2 - Background:The objective of the study was to determine physicians’ views of the effects of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) on health service utilization, quality of care, and the doctor-patient relationship.Methods:Cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of US physicians to determine their perceptions of the effects of patients discussing information from DTCA on time efficiency; requests for specific interventions; health outcomes; and the doctor-patient relationship.Results:Physicians reported that more than half (56%) of patients who discussed information from DTCA in a visit did so because they wanted a specific intervention, such as a test, change in medication, or specialist referral. The physician deemed 49% of these requests clinically inappropriate. Physicians filled 69% of requests they deemed clinically inappropriate; 39% of physicians perceived DTCA as damaging to the time efficiency of the visit, and 13% saw it as helpful. Thirty-three percent of physicians thought discussing DTCA had improved the doctor-patient relationship; 8% felt it had worsened it. The effect on the relationship was strongly associated with doing what the patient wanted.Conclusions:DTCA can have good and bad effects on quality of care, the doctor-patient relationship, and health service utilization. The benefits might be maximized, and the harms minimized, by increasing the accuracy of information in advertisements; enhancing physicians’ communication and negotiation skills; and encouraging patients to respect physicians’ clinical expertise. ER -