Bad-Drug Ads or Killer Ads: The Effects of Drug Injury Advertising on Public Health
中文摘要
本文分析了针对制药公司的诉讼广告所产生的影响。尽管此类广告的主要目的是招募潜在的诉讼原告，但它们同时也触及了广泛的受众群体。医疗专业人士担忧，药品伤害广告可能使未受伤害的患者误判治疗的风险与收益，进而停用医学上必需使用的药物。本文考察了药品伤害广告如何影响处方配药及随后的健康结果。实证情境分析了抗凝药，此类药物常被老年患者用于预防中风。研究发现，药品伤害广告导致目标药物的处方配药量下降，同时以抗凝药治疗的病症的住院量相应上升。这些结果指向具有实质意义的公共健康后果，并凸显了促进准确且均衡信息的政策回应所带来的益处。本文由营销学编辑 Jean-Pierre Dube 接受。资助：本研究获得了美国国家科学基金会 [资助编号 SES-1919040] 以及 Morrison 营销与数据分析中心的慷慨资助。补充材料：在线附录与数据文件可在 https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.04294 获取。
Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of lawsuit advertisements targeting drug companies. Although the main purpose of the ads is to recruit potential lawsuit plaintiffs, they also reach a broad audience of viewers. Medical professionals have raised concerns that drug injury ads may lead uninjured patients to misperceive the risks and benefits of treatment, leading them to discontinue medically necessary drugs. The paper examines how drug injury ads affect prescription fills and subsequent health outcomes. The empirical context analyzes anticoagulants, which are commonly used by elderly patients to prevent strokes. The study finds that drug injury ads lead to a decrease in filled prescriptions for targeted drugs and a corresponding increase in hospitalizations for conditions treated with anticoagulants. These results point to meaningful public health consequences and highlight the benefits from policy responses that promote accurate and balanced information. This paper was accepted by Jean-Pierre Dube, marketing. Funding: Financial support for this research was generously provided through the National Science Foundation [Grant SES-1919040] and the Morrison Center for Marketing and Data Analytics. Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.04294 .