But to pharmaceutical companies, doctors were middlemen that kept them from appealing directly to consumers. In the 1980s, they pushed the FDA to lift its moratorium on DTC, citing patients' desire for more information to help them make informed decisions. The FDA complied, but it set out guidelines that made only print advertising possible, by requiring drug companies to supply comprehensive information about potential side effects. What commercials must include In 1997, after increasing pressure from the pharmaceutical industry and TV networks, the FDA wrote new guidelines. That opened the floodgates.
Experts say that has helped fuel spiraling healthcare costs.
Prescription-drug prices are increasing at 18 percent, twice the overall rate of healthcare inflation. It's not so much the price of a particular drug going up. In a good number of cases, the older drugs were just as effective, but less expensive. Her favorite example is the arthritis drug Celebrex. Any clinician will tell you that only about 6 percent of the population using Celebrex really needs it.