ACC Action on DTC Ads
ACC and DTC
The American College of Clinicians has been busy.
The ACC announced today that it has reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to have more inclusive language used in direct-to-consumer advertisements for Avodart.
From the ACC press release:
The American College of Clinicians (ACC) is pleased to announce a breakthrough in its advocative work for NPs and PAs regarding the customary language used in DTC advertising. The issue concerned phrases that suggest that "doctors" are the only clinicians who prescribe or the only professionals who are allowed to diagnose and treat most illnesses. A high majority of our members felt that these phrases were inaccurate and are commonly used by many different companies in their DTC campaigns.
As a result of ongoing talks between the ACC and GlaxoSmithKline, the Avodart commercial that states "Only your doctor can determine whether your symptoms are from an enlarged prostate..." and "ask your doctor about Avodart today" will be modified with a new message that replaces doctor with healthcare provider. This new campaign is expected to to debut in April of 2008.The American College of Clinicians will continue to keep this positive dialogue going into 2008.
Also, ACC president-elect Elayne DeSimone, PhD, ANP, PA, and secretary Dave Mittman, PA, co-authored an article for the December issue of DTC Perspectives titled, "Only Your Doctor Can Diagnose Your Problems-Not Any More!"
There are two groups of healthcare professionals that DTC ads hurt: physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs).
Why does it hurt these professions? The problem usually lies with the use of two specific phrases; "Your MUST see a doctor because ONLY a doctor can diagnose disease XYZ., and "You must see a doctor because only a doctor can prescribe product X." Almost all DTC ads contain one of these phrases and every time an NP or PA hears them it turns them off to the product or company giving that message.
Link to DTC Perspectives article
Link to ACC Web site