• Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 9:16 AM

The changing dynamic of the doctor-patient relationship--with patients seemingly calling the shots when it comes to prescription drugs--was the focus of a congressional hearing last week that asked the question, "Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Marketing, Education or Deception?" House Democrats who called the hearing want legislation that would impose new rules on so-called DTC ads.

This isn't a new debate. But one particularly striking aspect of last week's hearing was that it pitted doctors against drug companies, with the former saying that DTC ads do more harm than good and the latter basically ignoring what the doctors had to say.

Most doctors dislike DTC ads because the campaigns typically place marketing ahead of education and force doctors to dissuade patients from demanding some drug they saw on TV rather than accepting a cheaper generic version or an alternative therapy, says Nancy Nielsen, president-elect of the American Medical Association. Drug makers see things differently. "Surveys show that DTC advertising brings patients into their doctors' offices and helps start important doctor-patient conversations," says Ken Johnson, svp of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »