Article Figures & Data
Tables
DTCA Data Category Description Expenditure amount Monetary value ($USD) for promotion for each marketing medium utilized Category of DTCA Product claims ad, reminder ad, help-seeking ad Marketing medium TV, radio, print, outdoor, Internet, Internet-social media, prescription drug coupon, etc. Language Language(s) utilized in DTCA Location Name of country/state DTCA is limited to/disseminated in Time Length (in days) of DTCA promotional campaign Product class Pharmaceutical, biological, medical device, etc. Therapeutic category Therapeutic category of DTCA product Disease associated Disease information associated with DTCA Name of product Branded or proprietary name of DTCA product
Additional Files
The Article in Brief
It's Time to Shine the Light on Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
Timothy K. Mackey , and colleagues
Background While pharmaceutical marketing has shifted to direct-to consumer advertising (DTCA) on the Internet, in social media and through mobile applications, new federal "sunshine" regulations require disclosure of certain marketing and industry payments to physicians. This essay calls for greater DTCA transparency, especially in emerging digital forms of DTCA, to complement forthcoming sunshine transparency data. To get a clearer picture of the overall impact of pharmaceutical promotion in the changing digital health landscape, the authors propose some initial DTCA disclosure requirements aimed at increasing transparency. This data, they assert, could lead to more targeted state and federal policy interventions leveraging existing federal transparency regulations to ensure appropriate marketing, spending and consumption of pharmaceutical products.
