I evaluate how the probability of substitution of a prescribed drug in a pharmacy depends on the pharmacists' profits and patients' out of pocket costs. I use Finnish population-wide data covering all prescriptions of three popular antidepressants. I find that one euro increase in the total...

A fundamental question in pharmaceutical marketing management is: How does the effectiveness of detailing change when additional information on drugs is revealed via patients' experiences during the product lifecycle? To address this question, we develop a model of detailing and prescribing...

We study the Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance program as a bellwether for designs of private, non-mandatory health insurance markets, focusing on the ability of consumers to evaluate and optimize their choices of plans. Our analysis of administrative data on medical claims in Medicare...

Motivated by recent empirical findings on the relationship between new clinical evidence and the effectiveness of detailing, this paper develops a new structural model of detailing and prescribing decisions under the environment where both manufacturers and physicians are uncertain about drug...

This paper examines the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs on doctor choice of drug brands. Using antihistamines as an example, we show that DTCA has little effect on the choice of brand despite the massive DTCA expenditure incurred in this class. In contrast,...

We analyze an equilibrium search model in a duopoly setting with bilateral heterogeneities in production and search costs in which firms can advertise by announcing price and location. We study existence, stability, and comparative statics in such a setting, compare the market advertising level...

The year of 1997 witnessed an important change in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted brand-specific DTC ads on TV without a "brief summary" of comprehensive risk information. This led to a three-fold...

Numerous studies have examined the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC) on patient and physician behaviors; however, none has focused on the relationship between DTC and insurance benefit design. In this study, we explored the impact of DTC advertising on the cost control behaviors of...