Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs is the process where the marketing activities of medical or pharmaceutical products like drugs are focused on the final consumers, who are the patients, instead of going through the healthcare professionals. There are legal regulations, ethical requirements and policies that guide the marketing of pharmaceutical products, and on many occasions, it is required the process goes through the professionals. The population I serve in my nursing practice has depicted some impacts of direct-to-consumer advertising activities. The activities seem to increase cases of drug abuse among the users since the advertising mainly focuses on improving sales rather than guiding the use. Our assignment writing services will allow you to attend to more important tasks as our experts handle your task.
Lack of proper and complete information on the products affects the consumers’ psychology and health when they begin to experience side effects they are not fully aware of. The population has been reporting many problems related to the side effects of pharmaceutical products that were acquired as a result of direct-to-consumer advertising. An increase in drug poisoning and other misuse of drugs has also been reported among the population as a result of the advertising process. People also have some conflicting opinions about the practice as they feel that companies spend a lot of time on marketing activities rather than on the more important research and developments in the health sector (Mukherji et al., 2017).
Many countries have imposed bun on the direct advertising of drugs to customers directly, except for the case of the United States and New Zealand. These two countries have put up some regulations to guide the practice and ensure the activities do not mislead the public who consume the products. There are several ethical considerations around this practice which also outline the sensitivity of the activity in society. The main ethical issue in DTCA is the fact that the practice may have an adverse impact on the prescription, which may be based on the demand of the consumers. The DTCA activities may also bring up the issues of cheaper options in the pharmaceutical prescription, which may otherwise be unnecessary in medical reasoning. The advertising may include some gifts from pharmaceutical companies, which may otherwise compromise the ethical behaviour of health professionals.
When it comes to the subject of autonomy and DTCA, the topic changes significantly as autonomy is influenced mainly by the patient’s capability to contribute to various decisions about healthcare. Autonomy does not depend so much on the ability to choose a specific therapy. The DTCA is, therefore, important in ensuring that patients have comprehensive information about the choices they make in health-related issues. The role played by DTCA in autonomous choices is also dependent on fairness and the level of honesty regarding the benefits and limitations of the therapeutic process (Sinkinson & Starc, 2019).
Pharmaceutical companies should focus more on the general public’s well-being in their manufacturing process, and that is what promotes justice in their activities. The investors in the sector who focus more on profit seem to avail insufficient drug alternatives in the medical sector and the DTCA. Profit-driven investors and companies compromise the non-maleficence element, which is a key pillar in the medical sector and service delivery. The DTCA is considered crucial in promoting beneficence based on the consumer’s or patient’s ability to get the medication. The physicians only get to focus on the patient’s health.
References
Sinkinson, M., & Starc, A. (2019). Ask your doctor. Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals. The Review of Economic Studies, 86(2), 836-881.
Mukherji, P., Janakiraman, R., Dutta, S., & Rajiv, S. (2017). How Direct-to-consumer Advertising for Prescription Drugs Affects Consumers’ Welfare: A Natural
Experiment Tests the Impact of FDA Legislation. Journal of Advertising Research, 57(1), 94-108.
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Question 
After reviewing Module 4: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Direct-To-Consumer Advertising
Respond to the Case Study presented in Chapter 12 (p. 286) about direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs. What impact have you observed in the populations you serve in your nursing practice? Comment on the ethics of this practice in terms of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.