Its official! Drug Advertising Sells More Drugs.

Sometimes you have to wonder what people are thinking.

In my local paper today, they had a big article about the fact that an experiment was done to see if doctors prescribe a drug a patient asks for because the patient saw the drug on TV even though the patient's condition didn't warrant a prescription.

And surprise, surprise! The experiment showed the doctors are five times more like to prescribe a drug that a patient specifically asks for because the patient saw an ad on television.

Drug companies have known this for years. That is why they spend billions on TV advertising. They know many doctors will go along with a patient if the doctor sees no real harm coming from something a patient wants to do. So if a patient comes and asks for a specific drug for say depression, the doctor is inclined to okay it rather than stand firm and tell the patient that the drug is not needed.

And we all wonder why health care costs just keep going up and up in this country.