Survey: Prescription drug ads prompt one-third of Americans to ask doctors about advertised medicine

According to a new national survey conducted by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, "prescription-drug ads prompt nearly one-third of Americans to ask their doctors about an advertised medicine, and 82% of those who ask say their physicians recommended a prescription." (Source: "As drug ads surge, more get Rx's filled," USA Today, March 4, 2008.) In 2006 a record $4.8 billion was spent on drug advertising, up from $2.6 billion in 2002. "Among people who requested a drug, 44% said physicians gave the one they asked about, while slightly more than half said doctors prescribed a different drug. Sometimes, doctors did both. When duplicate answers were removed, the poll found 82% of patients got some type of prescription." USA Today also has a related article on this subject titled "Analyzing the side effects of drug ads."