Direct‐to‐Consumer Advertising

Where We Stand:

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) discourages the use of direct‐to‐consumer advertising that promotes specific prescription drug products, and supports advertisements that educate the public about disease symptoms and available treatment options. 

AMCP recognizes that the public has a personal interest and responsibility in managing their health care. Advertising that increases public awareness about disease symptoms, informs consumers about available treatment options and diagnostic procedures, and encourages people to pursue healthy lifestyles can improve the health status of patients. It does this by encouraging consumers to become more proactive about their health, in general, and by fostering a constructive dialogue between patients and their providers regarding their care. AMCP supports the concept of patient engagement, and information that increases the knowledge level of patients regarding a particular disease and the importance of good compliance or adherence to medications will support improved patient outcomes. 

AMCP strongly discourages advertising aimed at consumers that promotes the use of specific prescription drug products. In general, such advertising aims to increase a product's market share or create a new market for the product. AMCP advocates for the appropriate use of prescription drug products and encourages providers to select products based on the needs of the patient in conjunction with prescription drug benefit designs. Whether or not a prescription item is medically indicated for a given patient, direct‐to‐consumer advertising of the product can create unwarranted patient demand. The advertising can often be misleading because they typically fail to sufficiently warn consumers about the potential risks of using the product, fail to inform them about alternative treatment options, and fail to provide information about cost issues.¹ 

See also:

AMCP Where We Stand series: https://www.amcp.org/policy-advocacy/policy-advocacy-focus-areas/where-we-stand-position-statements

Revised by the AMCP Board of Directors, February 2017 

¹ Dumit, Joseph. "Pharmaceutical Witnessing: Drugs for Life in an Era of Direct to Consumer Advertising." The Pharmaceutical Studies Reader. N.p.: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 35-40. Wiley Blackwell, 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.