[Written pharmaceutical advertising--still unreliable?].

Area of Science:

• Medical Marketing and Ethics
• Pharmaceutical Advertising Scrutiny

Background:

• Pharmaceutical marketing significantly influences physician prescribing behaviors.
• Assessing the accuracy and clinical relevance of pharmaceutical advertisements is crucial for evidence-based practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy and clinical relevance of claims made in pharmaceutical advertisements.
• To assess the quality and potential conflicts of interest in the references cited in these advertisements.

Main Methods:

• Collected and analyzed pharmaceutical advertisements received by general practitioners over three months.
• Assessed claims against source data and Norwegian pharmaceutical regulations.
• Examined cited references for conflicts of interest.

Main Results:

• 56% of claims in advertisements were accurate and clinically relevant.
• 75% of cited journal articles reported author conflicts of interest.
• Cited literature quality varied, often with pharmaceutical funding.

Conclusions:

• Approximately half of pharmaceutical advertisement claims are accurate and clinically relevant.
• Physicians should approach pharmaceutical marketing with skepticism due to varying claim accuracy and cited literature quality.
• Identified issues persist compared to a 2004 study, highlighting ongoing concerns in pharmaceutical marketing ethics.