Our good friend John Kamp, Executive Director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, begs to differ with the recent report in the Annals of Family Medicine on the future of DTC communications. And he takes particular umbrage at a sidebar editorial by Dr. David Kessler.
As do we here at Drugwonks. Kamp's right and his statement deserves to be shared.
We are proud to do so.
Coalition Responds to DTC Study, Editorial In Annals of Family Medicine, January/February 2007
The January/February 2007 edition of the Annals of Family Medicine contains a report on a DTC research study and an accompanying editorial co-authored by former FDA Commissioner David Kessler. Although the FDA needs to ground its DTC policy on the science of consumer behavior, the study and the editorial would lead policy makers in the wrong direction.
Either editorialists Kessler and Levy didn’t read the study carefully or chose to ignore its limits. Nothing in the research supports their opinions and conclusions that more stringent DTC rules are needed. Further, the research authors largely ignore the significant body of studies on the effects of advertising on consumer beliefs and behaviors, including the FDA's own studies, that demonstrate that exposure to advertising leads to more and better doctor-patient conversations.
The full text of the statement can be found by clicking on this link:
Download file
Remember -- it's the First Amendment for a reason.
As do we here at Drugwonks. Kamp's right and his statement deserves to be shared.
We are proud to do so.
Coalition Responds to DTC Study, Editorial In Annals of Family Medicine, January/February 2007
The January/February 2007 edition of the Annals of Family Medicine contains a report on a DTC research study and an accompanying editorial co-authored by former FDA Commissioner David Kessler. Although the FDA needs to ground its DTC policy on the science of consumer behavior, the study and the editorial would lead policy makers in the wrong direction.
Either editorialists Kessler and Levy didn’t read the study carefully or chose to ignore its limits. Nothing in the research supports their opinions and conclusions that more stringent DTC rules are needed. Further, the research authors largely ignore the significant body of studies on the effects of advertising on consumer beliefs and behaviors, including the FDA's own studies, that demonstrate that exposure to advertising leads to more and better doctor-patient conversations.
The full text of the statement can be found by clicking on this link:
Download file
Remember -- it's the First Amendment for a reason.
