Future Challenges and Opportunities in Online Prescription Drug Promotion Research; Comment on “Trouble Spots in Online Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Promotion: A Content Analysis of FDA Warning Letters”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors

Center for Communication Science, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

Abstract

Despite increased availability of online promotional tools for prescription drug marketers, evidence on online prescription drug promotion is far from settled or conclusive. We highlight ways in which online prescription drug promotion is similar to conventional broadcast and print advertising and ways in which it differs. We also highlight five key areas for future research: branded drug website influence on consumer knowledge and behavior, interactive features on branded drug websites, mobile viewing of branded websites and mobile advertisements, online promotion and non-US audiences, and social media and medication decisions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Full Text

"Watch the Video Summary"

References

  1. Kim H. Trouble spots in online direct-to-consumer prescription drug promotion: A content analysis of FDA warning letters. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2015;4(12):813-821.  doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2015.157
  2. Fox S, Duggan M. Health Online 2013. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project; 2013. http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Health-online.aspx.
  3. Hesse BW, Moser RP, Rutten LJ. Surveys of physicians and electronic health information. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(9):859-860.
  4. Liang BA, Mackey TK. Prevalence and global health implications of social media in direct-to-consumer drug advertising. J Med Internet Res. 2011;13(3):e64. doi:10.2196/jmir.1775
  5. Tyrawski J, DeAndrea DC. Pharmaceutical companies and their drugs on social media: A content analysis of drug information on popular social media sites. J Med Internet Res.  2015;17(6):e130. doi:10.2196/jmir.4357
  6. Macias W,  Lewis LS. A content analysis of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug Web sites. J Advert. 2003;32(4):43-56.
  7. Levy M, Matiesanu E, Mitskaviets I, Riley M, Daniels D. Prescription drug advertising: Benchmarking and identifying strategies to increase consumers’ engagement with online ads. Report No. HTH06-C04. New York: Jupiter Research; 2006.
  8. Macias W, Lewis LS,  Smith TL. Health-related message boards/chat rooms on the web: Discussion content and implications for pharmaceutical sponsorships. J Health Commun. 2005;10(3):209-223.
  9. Davis JJ, Cross E, Crowley J. Pharmaceutical websites and the communication of risk information. J Health Commun. 2007;12(1):29-39.
  10. Huh J,  Cude BJ. Is the information “fair and balanced” in direct-to-consumer prescription drug websites? J Health Commun. 2004;9(6):529-540.
  11. Ledford CJ. Content analysis of Internet marketing strategies: How pharmaceutical companies communicate about contraceptives with consumers online. Soc Mar Q. 2009;26(Suppl 1):55-71.
  12. Vigilante WJ,  Wogalter MS. Assessing risk and benefit communication in direct-to-consumer medication website advertising. Drug Inf J. 2005;39:3-12.
  13. Chan FW, Wong FY, So WY, Kung K,  Wong CK. How much do elders with chronic conditions know about their medications? BMC Geriatr. 2013;13:59. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-59
  14. Davis TC, Wolf MS, Bass PF 3rd, et al. Literacy and misunderstanding prescription drug labels. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145(12):887-894.
  15. Davis TC, Wolf MS, Bass PF, et al. Lower literacy impairs comprehension of prescription drug warning labels. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21(8):847-851.
  16. Shiffman S, Gerlach KK, Sembower MA,  Rohay JM. Consumer understanding of prescription drug information: An illustration using an antidepressant medication. Ann Pharmacother. 2011;45(4):452-458. doi:10.1345/aph.1P477
  17. Sundar RP, Becker MW, Bello NM,  Bix L. Quantifying age-related differences in information processing behaviors when viewing prescription drug labels. PLoS One 2012;7(6):e38819. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038819
  18. Wolf MS, Davis TC, Shrank W, et al. To err is human: Patient misinterpretations of prescription drug label instructions. Patient Educ Couns. 2007;67(3):293-300.
  19. Huh J,  Shin W. Consumer responses to pharmaceutical-company-sponsored disease information websites and DTC branded websites. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing. 2015;9(4):306-329.
  20. Kang H,  An S. How direct-to-consumer drug websites convey disease information: Analysis of stigma-reducing components. J Health Commun. 2013;18(12):1477-1491.
  21. Fox S, Duggan M. Mobile Health 2012. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project; 2012. http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/11/08/mobile-health-2012/.
  22. McCorkindale T,  Morgoch M. An analysis of the mobile readiness and dialogic principles of Fortune 500 mobile websites. Public Relat Rev. 2013;39(3):193-197.
  23. Billore A, Sadh A. Mobile advertising: a review of the literature. Marketing Review. 2015;15(2):161-183.
  24. Fang Z, Luo X,  Keith ME. How effective is location-targeted mobile advertising? MIT Sloan Management Review. 2015;56(2):14-15.
  25. Goh KY, Chu J,  Wu J. Mobile advertising: an empirical study of temporal and spatial differences in search behavior and advertising response. Journal of Interactive Marketing. 2015;30:34-45.
  26. Andreassen HK, Bujnowska-Fedak MM, Chronaki CE, et al. European citizens’ use of e-health services: a study of seven countries. BMC Public Health. 2007;7:53.
  27. Kishimoto K,  Fukushima N. Use of anonymous web communities and websites by medical consumers in Japan to research drug information. Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. 2011;131(5):685-695.
  28. McDaid D,  Park AL. Online Health: Untangling the Web. 2010. https://www.bupa.com.au/staticfiles/Bupa/HealthAndWellness/MediaFiles/PDF/LSE_Report_Online_Health.pdf. Published 2010.
  29. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Draft Guidance for Industry: Internet/Social Media Platforms with Character Space Limitations—Presenting Risk and Benefit Information for Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2014. http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/@fdagov-drugs-gen/documents/document/ucm401087.pdf.
  30. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Draft Guidance for Industry: Internet/Social Media Platforms—Correcting Independent Third-party Misinformation about Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2014. http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/@fdagov-drugs-gen/documents/document/ucm401079.pdf.
  31. Eysenbach G, Powell J, Englesakis M, Rizo C,  Stern A. Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: Systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. BMJ. 2004;328(7449):1166.
  32. Fox S. Peer-to-Peer Healthcare. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project; 2011. http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/P2PHealthcare.aspx.
  33. Rupert DJ, Moultrie RR, Gard Read J, et al. Perceived healthcare provider reactions to patient and caregiver use of online health communities. Patient Educ Couns. 2014;96(3):320-326.
  34. Southwell BG. Social networks and popular understanding of science and health: sharing disparities. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2013.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 23 November 2015
  • Revise Date: 13 January 2016
  • Accept Date: 13 January 2016
  • First Publish Date: 01 March 2016

Share

How to cite

Statistics