Barney Roca

Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medications violates the principles of having a prescriber and disincentives a truly informed consent central to the healthcare rights of all Americans. DTC has delivered us to the era of overprescribing and the negative consequences on the practice of medicine these habits breed including, an opioid crisis, drug resistant pathogens and the erosion of the doctor-patient relationship. DTC marketing turns prescribers and pharmacies into glorified dealers. 

I propose using existing authorities and regulatory bodies to ban DTC marketing of all prescription medication. This $7 billion annual investment can instead be incentivized to pharmaceutical companies to work with their media partners to produce and distribute important public health announcements to education the public on when to seek care from a prescriber or the disease process for conditions that their medications treat. A form of trickle down marketing. Ultimately the pharmaceutical company that offers the best medication for any of conditions covered in the PSA they fund will increase sales, and a healthier American population. 

This solution helps to wrangle in costs of prescription medications by billions of dollars per year or offer the public in billions of dollars per year in benefits by funding either PSA or research that supports the claims made in those PSA. This solution requires no action by Congress. The FDA, FTC and the OIG all exist and have the authority to implement and enforce this policy now if given the directive by the executive branch that oversees the operations of these agencies. All it requires is poltical will. The will to do the right thing. The will to call a spade a spade and take meaningful action.