American Medical Association Requests Delay on Medication Advertising
The American Medical Association recommends that the FDA approve any advertising by drug companies before launching any direct-to-consumer advertising. During its annual meeting, AMA's president-elect, Dr. Ronald Davis, issued the statement, "Physicians will have the opportunity to become better educated on the pros and cons of prescription drug uses before prescribing them, and will be better able to determine when they are best suited for their patients' medical needs." Orthopedic surgeon Ralph DiLibero, M.D., of Palos Verdes Estates, CA, another doctor at the annual meeting, was also in favor of the moratorium, "We don't want anything advertised to our patients that hasn't gone through physicians first." In agreement with this goal of educating the public is Dr. Anthony Paul of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
For the full story, as reported by Reuters Health Information, please see AMA Calls for Limits on Drug Advertising. More commentary is available at seniorjournal.com, an online magazine for seniors as well as MedPage Today. described as "the only medical news service for physicians that links consumer medical news and the professional medical analysis needed by clinicians."