ASHP calls for the ban on prescription advertising

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) announced this week that it has approved a measure that urges Congress to ban advertisements for prescription medication and related devices.  

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that pharmaceutical companies have increased spending on direct-to-consumer advertising at a higher rate than on research and development for each medication. This report was published in 2002 and indicates that oversight and regulatory bodies have not been able to prevent all misleading information to reach consumers.

“For decades, pharmacists practicing in hospitals and clinics have been the leaders in recommending and initiating evidence-based medication therapies in partnership with physicians and other prescribers — and in helping patients achieve optimal and cost-effective medication therapy outcomes,” ASHP CEO Paul Abramowitz said. “ASHP believes that medication education provided by pharmacists and other providers as part of a provider-patient relationship is a much more effective way to make patients aware of available therapies, rather than relying on direct-to-consumer advertising.”

This decision was made during the ASHP House of Delegates Summer Meetings and Exhibition that took place this week in Baltimore. A former policy that was adopted in 1997 had opposed advertisements unless the material meets certain criteria.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has some oversight on advertisements but the agency is limited in what is able to do.