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The impact of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs on physician visits and drug requests: Empirical findings and public policy implications

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  • Liu, Qiang
  • Gupta, Sachin

Abstract

This study analyzes the effect of DTCA expenditures for anti-hyperlipidemia drugs on patient behaviors. The key findings are: (a) DTCA expenditures have a positive and long-term effect on the number of visits to physicians by newly diagnosed hyperlipidemia patients. (b) The effectiveness of DTCA in generating new patient visits varies substantially across patient sub-groups. (c) The effect of DTCA is larger on drug visits than on non-drug-only visits. (d) Own-brand DTCA expenditures increase the number of patient requests for Lipitor and Zocor, but have no effect on patient requests for Pravachol. Competing drugs’ DTCA expenditures have a positive effect only on patient requests for the leading brand, Lipitor. (e) A cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that the economic benefits of DTCA in terms of life years saved by preventing cardiovascular disease are considerably larger than the costs of advertising. (f) DTCA on TV has strong effects on underserved segments of the population, such as those on Medicaid. We believe this finding should be carefully considered by proponents of a complete ban or stricter regulations on DTCA.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Qiang & Gupta, Sachin, 2011. "The impact of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs on physician visits and drug requests: Empirical findings and public policy implications," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 205-217.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:28:y:2011:i:3:p:205-217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2011.04.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Dhaval M. Dave, 2013. "Effects of Pharmaceutical Promotion: A Review and Assessment," NBER Working Papers 18830, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Prigge, Jana-Kristin & Dietz, Beatrix & Homburg, Christian & Hoyer, Wayne D. & Burton, Jennifer L., 2015. "Patient empowerment: A cross-disease exploration of antecedents and consequences," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 375-386.
    3. Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos & Buxton, Samantha & Khammash, Marwan & Stern, Philip, 2016. "Forecasting branded and generic pharmaceuticals," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 344-357.
    4. Jo, Wooyong & Nam, Hyoryung & Choi, Jeonghye, 2022. "Opening the OTC drug market: The effect of deregulation on retail pharmacy’s performance," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 847-866.
    5. Qiang Liu & Hongju Liu & Manohar Kalwani, 2020. "“See your doctor”: the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising on patients with different affliction levels," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 37-48, March.
    6. Matthew Ryan & Rhema Vaithianathan, 2015. "The Regulation of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals in a Managed Care Setting," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(6), pages 986-1021, December.
    7. Alderighi, Marco & Bianchi, Carluccio & Lorenzini, Eleonora, 2016. "The impact of local food specialities on the decision to (re)visit a tourist destination: Market-expanding or business-stealing?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 323-333.
    8. Sood, Ashish & Kappe, Eelco & Stremersch, Stefan, 2014. "The commercial contribution of clinical studies for pharmaceutical drugs," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 65-77.
    9. Qiang Fu & Ganesh Iyer, 2019. "Multimarket Value Creation and Competition," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(1), pages 129-149, January.
    10. Andrew T. Ching & Robert Clark & Ignatius Horstmann & Hyunwoo Lim, 2016. "The Effects of Publicity on Demand: The Case of Anti-Cholesterol Drugs," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(1), pages 158-181, January.
    11. S. Buxton & Kostas Nikolopoulos & M. Khammash & P. Stern, 2015. "Modelling and Forecasting Branded and Generic Pharmaceutical Life Cycles: Assessment of the Number of Dispensed Units," Working Papers 15004, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    12. Qiang Liu & Thomas J. Steenburgh & Sachin Gupta, 2015. "The Cross Attributes Flexible Substitution Logit: Uncovering Category Expansion and Share Impacts of Marketing Instruments," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(1), pages 144-159, January.
    13. Stefan Stremersch & Vardit Landsman & Sriram Venkataraman, 2013. "The Relationship Between DTCA, Drug Requests, and Prescriptions: Uncovering Variation in Specialty and Space," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 89-110, June.

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