In this section you will find comments from writers in the Healthcare Industry. Many of these articles appear elsewhere on the site but they are also listed here for your convenience.

DTC Advertising

Prominent First Amendment Scholar Critiques Kennedy Drug Safety Bill

Dean Smolla's letter concludes the bill would not withstand a First Amendment challenge.
April 27, 2007

New NMA Study Shows Increased DTC Advertising Approval among Black Physicians
Research published in the March, 2007 Journal of the National Medical Association compares 2006 results to less favorable views in 2001.
View entire report
View analysis by Target Market News

Lawyers Do Not Expect New Curbs On Drug Advertising
By Aaron Lorenzo
Washington Editor
BioWorld Today


A DOSE OF REALITY
ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADVERTISING
By Adonis Hoffman
Senior Vice President and Counsel
American Association of Advertising Agencies

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FDA
Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

CONSUMER DRUG ADS FACING THEIR MOMENT OF TRUTH
Less show, more show-and-tell seen in wake of drug safety hearings
Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
March 10, 2005

WHAT'S NEXT, BANNING ADS FOR DISPOSABLE DIAPERS?
Peter Pitts
Former FDA Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs

THE ECONOMICS OF DTC ADVERTISING OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
Richard Manning, Ph.D., Allison Keith, Ph.D., Pfizer

An analysis of how direct-to-consumer advertising affects the price and utilization of prescription products is provided by the authors. The evidence shows no direct relationship between DTC advertising and prescription drug prices.

The article appears in a monograph published by Pfizer Inc. "Economic Realities in Health Care Policy," vol. 2 Issue1 pgs. 3-9. It can be accessed by clicking on the link above.

COALITION SURVEY ON
PATIENT EDUCATION
View the results of our Nov. 2005 survey on DTC Advertising.

Drug Safety

IOM Drug Safety Gives FDA Options: The Institute of Medicine drug safety report has generate a lot of headlines about FDA failures and the need for big reforms. How bad was the report really? It did not make some of the recommendations that FDA feared the most – such as splitting the agency’s drug approval activities into separate safety and efficacy reviews. http://www.windhover.com/ezine/pdf/Iom0610.pdf

Marketing Use of Prescription Data

Flying Blind: Learning to Live without Physician Prescribing Data
Article from RPM Report, January, 2007

CME

First Amendment Scholar Sees Health Danger in
Senate Attacks on CME
Article from Legal Backgrounder by Jeffrey N. Gibbs, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C., April 7, 2006

ACCME Posts Clarification of Standards for Commercial Support for CME and of Compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act
View ACCME's answers to frequently asked questions and expectations of commercial providers.

FAQs and Answers
Expectations
Standards
Fax Ban



General Industry Issues

Media Institute Attacks Political Assault on Free Speech; Urges Strong and Unified Defense February, 2007

Legislate in Haste;
Repent at Leisure
Key opinion leaders see new threats and dangers in New Hampshire ban on the use of prescriber data.
Article by Warren Ross in Medical Marketing & Media, November, 2006

Pharma Critics Demand Full Disclosure But Resist It for Themselves
Commentary by Peter J. Pitts, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, August 18, 2006

Interesting Commentary on Status and Future of Journal Advertising (PDF)
by the Association of Medical Publications.
To view the presentation in PowerPoint format, please visit www.amponline.org/
June, 2006

Witch Hunt
Article from the Wall Street Journal by Thomas P. Stossel, Harvard School of Medicine Professor, in response to recent JAMA statement protesting influence of pharmaceutical and device manufacturers in academic health centers.

"RULE OF REASON" SHOULD APPLY TO AVALANCHE OF DRUG FRAUD LAWSUITS
Scott Bass, Partner
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood Article from RxCompliance Report

GHOSTWRITING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Joseph Orsini, President and Editorial Director LetterPressMD Editorial Services

UK's Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency Publishes New Guide for Advertisers
View "The Blue Guide: Advertising and Promotion of Medicines in the UK" in PDF format.

HELP SOUGHT FOR HEALTH EDUCATION IN HURRICANE AFTERMATH

ARE THE BENEFITS OF NEWER DRUGS WORTH THEIR COST? (PDF Format)
Frank R. Lichtenberg, Columbia University, New York, NY
Health Affairs September/October 2001
This article appears on the Health Affairs site, accessed by clicking on the link above. (Free Abstract, Paid Article)