Ads allow patient and physician to know up front what is expected. A study published in the British Medical Journal last December showed that 67 percent of 526 patients waiting to see their primary care physician hoped for a prescription. One quarter of patients who wanted one left without it, presumably because they did not need it or could have been harmed. Ads aim to sell, not inform. The information in drug ads may be nonfiction, but it also may mislead and create unrealistic expectations.
Doctors know their patients are only getting part of the story from public ad campaigns.
And that's why patients call, wondering if their statin is good enough to prevent their first heart attack. Ad sequelae take a lot of physician time. Explaining this often involves phone calls, time away from other patients, reviewing drug interactions, suggesting a satisfactory different approach, arranging appropriate follow-up and trying to picture the patient. All because of dust mites. Time is at a premium in medicine.