OPINION:
As a former chair of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, I am encouraged by President Trump’s September memorandum instructing the Department of Health and Human Services to “take appropriate action to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.” Increasing transparency is an issue both sides of the aisle can and should get behind.
However, I would also caution decision-makers from misinterpreting his directive in ways that, by increasing the size and scope of the regulatory state, can make America’s overregulated health care system even worse.
As a conservative, I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s clear that Big Pharma doesn’t always have Americans’ best interests at heart. That said, when serving in Congress, I heard from thousands of Americans who made it clear that ads aren’t the boogeyman many people have portrayed them to be. Mr. Trump understands both points. That’s why his September directive takes such a delicate, balanced approach to this issue.
Many patients hear about an issue that they or a loved one may be experiencing and learn about potential treatment options through ads because, let’s be honest, who is reading scientific journals these days? These ads allow them to have more productive conversations with their doctors and make more thoughtful decisions about their care.
Given that the average time we spend with our health care professionals is sometimes as short as seven minutes, outside sources of information are sorely needed.
Mr. Trump is right — more transparency is a good thing, not a bad one — but the good news is that the information patients receive from pharmaceutical ads is already heavily regulated. Under the current system, ads must meet strict guidelines to ensure they provide accurate information about benefits and risks and do not make false or misleading claims.
We all have noticed how much time is spent explaining everything that could go wrong. Mr. Trump acknowledged this in his memo calling on the Food and Drug Administration to vigorously enforce existing regulations on pharmaceutical ads.
However, it seems some have not received the memo.
Immediately after the president’s action, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he wanted to return to a time when “many of [the pharmaceutical companies] didn’t advertise.” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary was even clearer on CNBC: The FDA, he said, “will require more disclosure and longer ads that may make the ads no longer feasible.”
In other words, this isn’t about carrying out Mr. Trump’s mission to ensure patients receive factual information; it’s about censoring advertisements and limiting access to vital information that helps patients become active participants in their own health care.
Such a measure is based entirely on the unfounded fear that presenting patients with truthful and balanced information about diseases and treatment options would somehow lead them to make misguided decisions about their own health. It assumes that patients would somehow persuade their physicians to prescribe them pills they don’t need. Restricting these ads shows little trust in either Americans’ common sense or in the integrity of our physicians, the very people we trust with our lives.
This patronizing approach runs counter to multiple surveys showing that the overwhelming majority of patients want to receive information about their medical conditions and treatment options and take an active role in their health care decision-making.
Americans are not clamoring for more drugs just because they see an ad. They seek out medication to get better, and they do that by working as a team with their doctor, someone they trust and respect and who will always serve as the prescribing gatekeeper. In fact, studies show that around 70% of new prescriptions come from patients seeking care for the first time, making clear that when patients receive information, they are more empowered to consult with their doctors and get the treatment they need.
Americans want a health care system that works for them, not more red tape. As Mr. Trump reiterated with his memo, we already have safeguards to protect consumers and enable patients to participate in their treatment decisions. Altering that equation will only worsen health outcomes, and that’s simply not what this country needs.
• Joseph R. Pitts served as a member of Congress from Georgia. He chaired the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee.
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