Pharmaceutical companies and their ad agencies, already spending over a billion dollars on advertising prescription drugs to consumers, are thinking about whether there is merit to TV advertisements that remind consumers to have their prescriptions refilled. Current ads, which are rampant on TV, focus on encouraging consumers to ask their doctors about the medicine being advertised.
Surveys show that compliance with both filling and refilling prescriptions is a widespread problem.
Over the years, they have consistently shown that significant numbers of consumers never get their initial prescriptions filled, and still larger numbers do not get them refilled. The number of patients who seek subsequent refills gets smaller and smaller. These numbers are supported by other surveys that also show that compliance drops off with each subsequent refill. Since drug companies and pharmacies make just as much from the umpteenth refill as from the initial prescription, there clearly is a strong incentive for them to encourage consumers to get refills. That's the challenge the drug companies are asking their ad agencies to look into.