NCL's Direct to Consumer Advertising Conference

Communicating risks to consumers is challenging in today’s health care environment. Health risks are communicated to consumers through numerous channels: health care professionals, medication labels, news media, package inserts, and more recently, direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. Controversy over certain medications, including COX-2 drugs and anti-depressants, has drawn attention to the role of DTC in conveying risk information to consumers. Since its inception 20 years ago, DTC has been controversial. Some argue that the ads are an inappropriate way to communicate complicated health information and lead to overuse of medications, while others see benefits in DTC’s success at persuading consumers to seek further information about new products for their health. Given the level of consumer exposure to DTC ads, NCL believes there is a strong need to assess their impact on consumers' understanding of medication risks and consumer behavior.

In June 2006, the National Consumers League convened a small conference, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality*, with additional support from Kaiser Permanente and the National Pharmaceutical Council, to focus future research on DTC. The goal of the conference was to develop the most promising lines of research on DTC, with a special emphasis on discovering how best to strengthen consumer understanding of prescription medication risks and benefits. The conference gathered researchers, consumer representatives, policy makers, regulators, manufacturers, and health care providers, all to work on an agenda to inform future DTC research. Conference participants developed ideas for specific research projects, and voted on the ideas they thought most important.

View our conference-related materials

(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view pdfs. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader®.)

Conference agenda

Research Overview

Executive Summary
Voting Results
Conference Evaluation (evaluation form)

DTC Research Overviews:

Issue Framing, Lou Morris, Lou A. Morris and Associates, Inc.

How does DTC affect consumers' understanding of risks and benefits of medications?
Kathryn Aikin, FDA and John Swasy, American University and

Ruth Day, Duke University

What is the impact of DTC on prescribing and health outcomes?
Dean Lillard, Cornell University

What lessons can be drawn from DTC for communicating vital health messages to consumers?
Paul Wallace, Kaiser Permanente
Closing Synthesis, Lou Morris

*The conference was supported by grant number 1 R13 HS016309 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.



National Consumers League's June 2006 DTC Conference


	Communicating risks to consumers is challenging in today’s health care environment. Health risks are communicated to consumers through numerous channels: health care professionals, medication labels, news media, package inserts, and more recently, direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. Controversy over certain medications, including COX-2 drugs and anti-depressants, has drawn attention to the role of DTC in conveying risk information to consumers. Since its inception 20 years ago, DTC has been controversial. Some argue that the ads are an inappropriate way to communicate complicated health information and lead to overuse of medications, while others see benefits in DTC’s success at persuading consumers to seek further information about new products for their health. Given the level of consumer exposure to DTC ads, NCL believes there is a strong need to assess their impact on consumers' understanding of medication risks and consumer behavior. In June 2006, the National Consumers League convened a small conference, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, with additional support from Kaiser Permanente and the National Pharmaceutical Council, to focus future research on DTC. The goal of the conference was to develop the most promising lines of research on DTC, with a special emphasis on discovering how best to strengthen consumer understanding of prescription medication risks and benefits. The conference gathered researchers, consumer representatives, policy makers, regulators, manufacturers, and health care providers, all to work on an agenda to inform future DTC research. Conference participants developed ideas for specific research projects, and voted on the ideas they thought most important. View our conference-related materials* (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view pdfs. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader®.) Conference agenda Research Overview Executive Summary Voting Results Conference Evaluation (evaluation form) DTC Research Overviews: Issue Framing, Lou Morris, Lou A. Morris and Associates, Inc. How does DTC affect consumers' understanding of risks and benefits of medications? Kathryn Aikin, FDA and John Swasy, American University and Ruth Day, Duke University What is the impact of DTC on prescribing and health outcomes? Dean Lillard, Cornell University What lessons can be drawn from DTC for communicating vital health messages to consumers? Paul Wallace, Kaiser Permanente Closing Synthesis, Lou Morris *The conference was supported by grant number 1 R13 HS016309 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.