THE CURSE OF CONSUMER DRIVEN PRESCRIPTIONS

I have noticed in the last 20 years the effect ofcommercials on prescription medications. When they first came onto the scene, I thought to myself “what a wasteof money.” The reason why I thought that,was because in my mind the only source of prescriptions was based on thejudgment, care, and skill of the physician. I had no thought as to how the patient could possibly influence thatprocess. Thus, commercials forprescriptions would be a total waste of money.

However, these commercials have lasted for more than 20years and I have come to understand other things that I did not knowbefore. In the last 15 years I have hadthe opportunity to have pharmaceutical representatives come to my office toshow me the new drugs that are on the scene to help treat various orofacial pain and other headache disorders such as migraine. I value these representatives because they show me how the drugs workand they are very helpful in helping me to work through various side effectsthat come along.

Since I spend time with these pharmaceuticalrepresentatives, I have come to learn that most physicians do not ask themquestions and most physicians hardly ever talk to these people. These representatives are full of informationdirect from the manufacturer and I find this information very valuable in mypatient care. However, physicians do notreally seem to have the same value, which caused me to reflect on thecommercials that I see on TV.

I know physicians are very busy because of the nature of thehealthcare system we have today. Theyhave to prioritize their practice and their care for patients, so I am the lastperson to question that whole process. However, it seems curious to me as to the efficacy of commercials forprescription medications and its continued presence. Based on what I know and what thepharmaceutical representatives have told me, I think that perhaps that thephysicians are open to suggestions by the patients or perhaps the physicianswatch the commercials as well and that might be a way for the information ofthe medications to get into the hands of the physicians.

I just hope that the trend of pharmaceutical commercials isnot a bad reflection as to what is happening in healthcare today. I hope it is just another avenue of beingable to get information into the hands of doctors. I cannot imagine that a physician couldpossibly take the suggestion of what medication to use from the patient. That is inconceivable to me.