title: A history of drug advertising: the evolving roles of consumers and consumer protection.
abstract: Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, 130 DeSoto Street, Crabtree Hall A613, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. jdonohue@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Donohue
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000941:ethics / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003657:Decision Making; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000941:ethics / Q000266:history*; D035082:Federal Government; D033161:Government Regulation; D006291:Health Policy / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010358:Patient Participation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D012648:Self Care; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration