How wonderful it would be to go to a doctor and feel that they take the Hippocratic Oath seriously. That they're first priority is the health of their patients. That they have no allegiances to drug companies. How idyllic it would be to think that the prescriptions they write are for drugs that are most suitable to the condition rather than a SWAG as to the chances that it is likely to do the trick.
Drug companies are businesses such as any other and some very beneficial drugs would never be made available to the people that would benefit from them most if they were to be unable to advertise. However, the medium and means by which drugs are advertised should really be debated. Further, whom is it appropriate to advertise to?
Since when are patients knowledgeable enough about drugs to be hassling their doctors to prescribe specific drugs? Many doctors face extreme pressure at the hands of overly zealous early adopters and feel unable to deny their pleadings for drugs which many not be all that beneficial.
The other areas of concern revolve around product samples provided to doctor's offices, as well as commission payments offered to doctors for their products' prescriptions. In effect, rather than trying to focus on the business of healing, or at least doing no harm, doctors are trying to meet sales quotas.
The natural greed and competitive nature of individuals who obviously had to be good enough to get into and succeed at medical school must be tempered. How can we trust that the drugs being prescribed are best able to address our needs and that they will not contradict with anything else being taken if the doctor is more concerned with his personal payoff rather than the contents of the medical chart they are holding?
So, should drug companies be banned from advertising their products? No. It is a necessary evil. Should it be banned from the public? Maybe. The trouble is that most people do not do enough due diligence. They trust the opinion of experts just a little bit too much. They rely on advertising as being truthful. Not enough people are willing to actually research and seek second and third opinions. When it comes to serious illness, the right drugs can make the difference between the ability to recover and the inability to do so.
At the end of the day, a company cannot be limited in its ability to attempt to attain profitability, providing that it has met requirements set out by government and other regulatory bodies. The onus must be on the patient to not take their doctor's words as gospel. It is possible that their opinion is not entirely driven by altruism and that they overlooked some key element in your care.
