IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ijrema/v28y2011i3p205-217.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811611000474
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2011.04.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sridhar Narayanan & Puneet Manchanda, 2009. "Heterogeneous Learning and the Targeting of Marketing Communication for New Products," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 424-441, 05-06.
    2. Kleibergen, Frank & Zivot, Eric, 2003. "Bayesian and classical approaches to instrumental variable regression," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 29-72, May.
    3. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    4. Berndt, Ernst R, et al, 1995. "Information, Marketing, and Pricing in the U.S. Antiulcer Drug Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(2), pages 100-105, May.
    5. Kremer, Sara T.M. & Bijmolt, Tammo H.A. & Leeflang, Peter S.H. & Wieringa, Jaap E., 2008. "Generalizations on the effectiveness of pharmaceutical promotional expenditures," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 234-246.
    6. Rosenthal Meredith B. & Berndt Ernst R. & Donohue Julie M. & Epstein Arnold M. & Frank Richard G., 2003. "Demand Effects of Recent Changes in Prescription Drug Promotion," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-28, January.
    7. John E. Calfee & Clifford Winston & Randolph Stempski, 2002. "Direct-to-Consumer Advertising and the Demand for Cholesterol-Reducing Drugs," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(S2), pages 673-690.
    8. Stremersch, Stefan, 2008. "Health and marketing: The emergence of a new field of research," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 229-233.
    9. John Mullahy, 1997. "Instrumental-Variable Estimation Of Count Data Models: Applications To Models Of Cigarette Smoking Behavior," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 586-593, November.
    10. Altman, Daniel & Cutler, David M & Zeckhauser, Richard J, 1998. "Adverse Selection and Adverse Retention," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 122-126, May.
    11. Pierre Azoulay, 2002. "Do Pharmaceutical Sales Respond to Scientific Evidence?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(4), pages 551-594, December.
    12. Toshiaki Iizuka & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2005. "The Effect of Prescription Drug Advertising on Doctor Visits," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 701-727, September.
    13. Meredith B. Rosenthal & Ernst R. Berndt & Julie M. Donohue & Arnold M. Epstein & Richard G. Frank, 2003. "Demand Effects of Recent Changes in Prescription Drug Promotion," NBER Chapters, in: Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 6, pages 1-26, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Stefan Stremersch & Aurélie Lemmens, 2009. "Sales Growth of New Pharmaceuticals Across the Globe: The Role of Regulatory Regimes," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 690-708, 07-08.
    15. Füsun Gönül & Franklin Carter & Jerry Wind, 2000. "What kind of patients and physicians value direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 215-226, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    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. 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.
    7. 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).
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Qiang Fu & Ganesh Iyer, 2019. "Multimarket Value Creation and Competition," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(1), pages 129-149, January.
    11. 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.
    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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anusua Datta & Dhaval Dave, 2017. "Effects of Physician‐directed Pharmaceutical Promotion on Prescription Behaviors: Longitudinal Evidence," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 450-468, April.
    2. Svetlana Beilfuss & Sebastian Linde, 2021. "Pharmaceutical opioid marketing and physician prescribing behavior," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(12), pages 3159-3185, December.
    3. Kremer, Sara T.M. & Bijmolt, Tammo H.A. & Leeflang, Peter S.H. & Wieringa, Jaap E., 2008. "Generalizations on the effectiveness of pharmaceutical promotional expenditures," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 234-246.
    4. Lakdawalla, Darius & Sood, Neeraj & Gu, Qian, 2013. "Pharmaceutical advertising and Medicare Part D," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1356-1367.
    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. Jayawardhana, Jayani, 2013. "Direct-to-consumer advertising and consumer welfare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 164-180.
    7. Dhaval Dave & Henry Saffer, 2012. "Impact of Direct‐to‐Consumer Advertising on Pharmaceutical Prices and Demand," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(1), pages 97-126, July.
    8. Guy David & Sara Markowitz, 2011. "Side Effects of Competition: the Role of Advertising and Promotion in Pharmaceutical Markets," NBER Working Papers 17162, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. David B. Ridley, 2015. "Payments, Promotion, And The Purple Pill," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 86-103, January.
    10. Dhaval M. Dave, 2013. "Effects of Pharmaceutical Promotion: A Review and Assessment," NBER Working Papers 18830, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Bradley T. Shapiro, 2018. "Informational Shocks, Off-Label Prescribing, and the Effects of Physician Detailing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5925-5945, December.
    12. Patricia M. Danzon & Eric L. Keuffel, 2014. "Regulation of the Pharmaceutical-Biotechnology Industry," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Regulation and Its Reform: What Have We Learned?, pages 407-484, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Alpert, Abby & Lakdawalla, Darius & Sood, Neeraj, 2023. "Prescription drug advertising and drug utilization: The role of Medicare Part D," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    14. 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.
    15. Brekke, Kurt R. & Kuhn, Michael, 2006. "Direct to consumer advertising in pharmaceutical markets," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 102-130, January.
    16. 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.
    17. Hosken, Daniel & Wendling, Brett, 2013. "Informing the uninformed: How drug advertising affects check-up visits," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 181-194.
    18. Amrita Bhattacharyya, 2005. "Advertising in Specialized Markets: Example from the US Pharmaceutical Industry," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 610, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 10 Nov 2005.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:28:y:2011:i:3:p:205-217. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-research-in-marketing/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.