Consumer responses to direct to consumer prescription drug advertising

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the types of patients most likely to visit physicians in response to direct to consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA). Design/methodology/approach – The study used data from a national telephone survey, “Public Health Impact of Direct‐to‐Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs, July 2001‐January 2002: [United States].” It included data on respondents' health status and utilization, experience with DTCA, demographic and socio‐economic information, and three types of DTCA‐prompted physician visits: visits to discuss a prescription drug, a new health condition, or a change in treatment. A conceptual model was developed to identify consumers most likely to respond to DTCA by visiting a physician. Findings – Five variables were related to all three types of visits. The most important were viewing media as the most important source, prompting one to talk with a physician and believing that DTCA improved discussion with health professionals. Believing that DTCA increased awareness of new treatments was less important, followed by having anxiety, then having arthritis. Taking medications regularly, having allergies, getting information from pamphlets in physicians' offices, and getting information from TV or radio advertisements were related to two types of visits. Research limitations/implications – Patients having positive beliefs about DTCA, preferring media information sources, and more susceptible to diseases treatable with prescription drugs were more likely to respond to DTCA by visiting physicians. Originality/value – The study advances the literature on DTCA by examining a range of DTCA‐prompted physician visit behaviors using a conceptual model that has not previously been applied to DTCA.