Experts Available for Comment On Direct-To-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs

Published December 5, 2006

(Chicago, Illinois – December 5, 2006) The U.S. Government Accountability Office is expected to release a study on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC) of prescription drugs in the coming weeks. The report comes in response to a June 2005 request by Senator Bill Frist that the GAO examine FDA regulation and oversight of DTC advertising and explore its “potential impact on utilization, health care spending, and patient education and awareness.”

Below are links to several articles on the issue as well as contact information for experts available for interviews on DTC advertising.

Articles

AMA Too Timid on Direct to Consumer Advertising
By Dr. Richard Dolinar
Senior Fellow for The Heartland Institute and consultant to the pharmaceutical industry
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 602/526-1235

Advertising Prescription Drugs: Is It Wasted?
By Joseph Bast
President of The Heartland Institute
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 312/377-4000

Prescription Drug Advertising: Problem or Solution?
By Merrill Matthews
Director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 703/836-6200

For more articles on DTC advertising visit PolicyBot™, The Heartland Institute’s free online research database. Point your Web browser to http://www.heartland.org/PolicyBotTopic.cfm?artTopic=664

Other Expert Contacts

Sandy Liddy Bourne
Vice President for Policy and Strategy for The Heartland Institute
Email: [email protected] Phone: 703/799-0954 or 703/517-3585

John Garven
Policy Advisor to The Heartland Institute
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 847/644-4496