More criticism of the Cypher stent ad campaign appears in the New York Times.
Such an initiative is so pernicious and wasteful (can you say, "expensive?") at a time when doctors and patients are being squeezed by corporate interests over healthcare delivery that I hope this ad becomes a battle cry to steer patient's away from their device.
Why do you think Medtronic quietly buried their direct-to-consumer ad campaign? (Hint: It wasn't just because of lead recalls. Referring doctors, seeing the avaricious nature of such a campaign, revolted as well.)
-Wes
This DTC advertising is a shameful waste of money. Do they expect the patient to be on the angio table and say "make mine a Cypher"? What happened to trusting your physician to make the best choice for you? Better to reduce the device cost than spend the advertising $. I have 2 Cyphers and they are working beautifully thank you, but it was certainly my physicians choice. I'm glad I don't hold their stock in my portfolio.
ReplyDeleteCompanies would be much better to spend their money getting patients and families educated about diseases, available treatments, prevention etc. The more informed patients are about what they have, the more apt they are to understand how they can help themselves the most. They become better patients. In the case of the DES patient, they understand the importance of taking their Plavix. In the case of a hip replacement, they understand how important PT is. In the case of patients with a prior MI / low EF, they may learn that they should ask their doctor about an ICD. Spend money on education and then work with physicians to differentiate their products and provide data / information. Just my 2 cents and simple answer to a much more complex issue.
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