Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for a anti-platelet drug does not seem to be associated with increased use, though it might be related to increased drug costs and Medicaid pharmacy expenditures, according to a report in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
 
The authors wrote that the cost of drugs to public and private health insurance programs has been a lingering source of concern among policy makers.
 
In addition to the millions of Americans enrolled in publicly funded Medicare Part D programs, prescription drugs are cited as one of the three top reasons for Medicaid expenditure growth.
 
Michael Law of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of British Columbia, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine said, "Consequently, payers and policymakers should appropriately still be concerned about direct-to-consumer advertising for publicly funded reimbursement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid."
 
The team analyzed data on Plavix or clopidogrel, the $9 billion-a-year seller made by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
 
Globally heart attack patients are treated by Plavix. It works in a very similar way to aspirin by stopping platelets from coagulating together.
 
Doctors did not alter the prescribing trends during the study period but the amount of money spent by Medicaid on the drug increased dramatically.
 
It was suggested finally that more studies should look at the effects of other drugs on costs in other settings since many countries consider permitting drug companies to start targeting consumers with advertising within their borders.

(Additional reporting by Kavita Toor)