Educational functions must accompany these perks in order to make them acceptable. Even then, there are dollar limits and guidelines as to what the companies can and cannot pay for that must be set. Above all else, the confidentiality of patients needs to be preserved. In the course of soliciting, many of these individuals seem to have forgotten the sole purpose of their existence, is to provide the most effective care for the patients.DISCUSSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONSDIRECT TO CONSUMER ADVERTISING. Pharmaceutical companies promote their products in a variety of ways. There are several different markets these companies are trying to solicit. One, of course is the patient. Consumers are bombarded with television ads for prescription medication. Prior to August 1997, the companies did not even disclose what the product was for. This prompted thousands of patients to call their physicians asking what the product was used for and would it help their conditions. Drug companies were omitting the uses of the drug in order to get around a regulation requiring the disclosure of all benefits and risks of the drug in the ads. Due to the confusion this created, and the fact that these ads were misleading the consumers, the FDA reviewed its policies on broadcast ads. It allowed companies to air a product directly to viewers without requiring the listing of detailed risk information. While this has helped eliminate some of the confusion, the ads still cause some controversy. Some healthcare providers feel that the ads mislead patients because they fail to give a complete and/or accurate picture. Patients see a serene happy person that suffers (no longer) from the same conditions they have. They see the product as an answer to their problems. The lack of information given to the consumer in a 30 or 60-second advertisement, such as drug interactions and side affects, become a difficult topic for provider to explain to a ...
