Recently, in a six-hour span, I read a newspaper article about cholesterol, saw commercials on heartburn and allergy relief, was encouraged to get my vision checked at the
mall, and heard about a sleep medication while watching late-night TV. Though I am professionally immersed in the strategic and technical side of drug marketing, this deluge of
information about diseases, therapies, and potential side effects -- received outside the confines of my office -- gave me pause. How are my fellow Americans reacting to this
swell of direct-to-consumer (DTC) communication?
There's no question that DTC communication -- and its most high-profile component, advertising -- has changed American culture. Four years ago, the FDA loosened regulations
about advertising prescription drugs to consumers, unleashing an avalanche of pharmaceutical marketing campaigns: on television; in newspapers and magazines; on the Internet; in
malls; at sporting events; even on subways and buses. Do people find this flood of information helpful? Or, are we -- and our clients -- inundating the public?
Through media relations, grass roots public education programs, online campaigns, event sponsorships and publishing, I've spent 20 years encouraging people to take action on
behalf of their health and helping companies build their brands. (Market research confirms that DTC pharmaceutical communication has successfully reached consumers, increased
brand awareness, and driven sales.) Naturally, I have focused on the bottom line.
This year, however, I received gripping evidence that sophisticated medical and treatment information is as valuable as the business side of the equation. This year, I became a
baby boomer cliché: a 40-something woman with a high-risk pregnancy and age-related skin cancer. Suddenly, my business became personal.
As I plunged into the healthcare process, I saw how DTC communication has changed medical care and a patient's involvement in it. I was expected to understand my condition and
treatment options before I got to the doctor's office, and actively participate in every stage of my care. I arrived in the examination room with questions based on Internet
research I'd conducted, brochures and magazine articles I'd read, and television health reports I'd seen. I devoured information wherever I was, grateful for its proximity.
Without it, I would have been lost and perhaps grown sicker.
In today's more segmented system, nurses and nurse practitioners have more prominent roles. Medical knowledge is no longer only the doctor's territory, nor should it be. These
changes have created an improved healthcare system. The doctors I asked appreciate their new, DTC-informed patients, welcoming their questions during appointments and over the
phone. They're relieved to get right to the details of treatment without wasting precious time teaching "Your Condition 101." Though conversations with doctors continue to grow
shorter, they're packed with more valuable information.
My experience as a patient provided a remarkably personal window into my professional life. I discovered that if we don't pay attention to the DTC communication around us, our
health could be at stake. After years in the healthcare PR industry, experiencing the value of DTC communication firsthand gave me a taste of my own medicine. And it tasted good.
Healthy Web Addresses
These sites exemplify successful DTC efforts, combining substance, depth, authority, insights from health professionals, outreach to niche markets, consistent messaging and
third-party perspectives:
http://www.4anemia.com -- sponsored by
Ortho Biotech.
http://www.thebody.com -- an AIDS and HIV
resource sponsored by a number of pharmaceutical companies.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
-- this National Library of Medicine service is an excellent consumer health
education site.
http://www.tamiflu.com -- a fun, interactive
site that lets the user track flu trends.
http://www.pfizerforliving.com
-- contains information and tools to calculate heart rate, analyze nutrition,
and track exercise programs.