James Hartert, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Cobalt Corporation, says pharmaceutical companies are contributing to higher health care costs through direct-to-consumer advertising, which drives up
demand for expensive name brand drugs. Two reports issued during the past week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Institute for Health Care Management (NICHM) highlight the need to
review direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs.
Hartert, VP and Chief Medical Officer for Cobalt Corporation called on pharmaceutical companies to "take their share of the
responsibility for skyrocketing health care costs."
The Kaiser survey found that over 70% of respondents learned little about medical conditions from consumer ads, while many consumers were not
clearly informed about the drugs side effects.
The NIHCM study claims that the top 50 most advertised prescription drugs accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in prescription drug
spending last year. The study attributed the spending increase to a rise in use and not to an increase in price for each prescription.