Sales and Marketing: Facts & Figures

 

59 percent of Americans have been prescribed a medication in the past two years, according to a survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center. 63 percent said they would not take a doctor-prescribed medication that has been approved by FDA, but not for their specific condition. 94 percent said they have never been told by a physician that a medication they were taking was not approved by FDA for their condition. 84 percent said FDA should not allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise a medication for a condition for which it has not been approved. Most respondents said it is either extremely (46 percent) or very (32 percent) important to them that FDA fully vet the safety and effectiveness of medications for a particular use.

Regarding issues related to advertisement for medications, significant majorities of respondents said it was of high importance that physicians are well-informed about the safety and effectiveness of a medication they are prescribing for a particular use (91 percent); that they are told all of a medication’s possible side effects and other risks (86 percent); to know how well the medication can be expected to work (83 percent); that they learn how well a medication works compared to other treatments (81 percent); that a medication is approved by FDA for the advertised condition (76 percent); and that FDA has approved any advertising that promotes the off-label use of a medication (61 percent).

Source: “Off-label drug use survey,” Consumer Reports National Research Center