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Press Release:
Contact: Jack Angel
Executive Director
Coalition for Healthcare Communication
(203) 661-3314
COALITION URGES FDA TO STRENGTHEN DTC ADVERTISING BY PREVENTING "INFORMATION OVERLOAD"
New York - January 15, 2004 - The Coalition for Healthcare Communication (CHC) recently filed comments with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addressing the value of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements for enhancing the doctor-patient relationship. To ensure consumers receive the full benefit of DTC advertisements, the Coalition stated that requiring more information in advertising creates "information overload."
The report submitted by the Coalition, comprised of eleven organizations involved in providing health information to consumers and health care professionals, demonstrates that increasing the quantity and detail of information in DTC ads may result in audiences absorbing little, if any, of this important information. Worse, it may discourage them from seeing their doctor.
"There is substantial evidence that DTC advertising is successfully meeting its most basic goal - to convince consumers to talk to their doctor about a specific medical condition," said Jack Angel, Executive Director of the Coalition. "Our report concludes that the effectiveness of all DTC advertising, both broadcast and print, can be severely undermined by requiring too much detailed information in the ads."
The Coalition recommends that DTC ads should focus on the consumer audience, streamline risk information, and encourage consumers to continue discussing the risks and benefits of prescription drugs with their health care providers. The report emphasizes that DTC ads are never intended to take the place of a thorough conversation between a patient and doctor.
The specific recommendations and the "white paper" by Dr. Lewis Pringle are available at the Coalition's website at www.cohealthcom.org. The members of the Coalition are the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Midwest Healthcare Marketing Association, Medical Marketing Association, Healthcare Businesswomen's Association, Healthcare Marketing and Communications Council, Public Relations Society of America, Association of Medical Publications, American Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers, American Medical Publishers Association, and American Business Media.
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