To Prescribe or Not to Prescribe? Consumer Access to Life-Enhancing Products

Area of Science:

• Medical Economics
• Consumer Health Behavior
• Pediatric Endocrinology

Background:

• Biotechnological advancements and direct-to-consumer advertising increase demand for life-enhancing products.
• Physicians act as gatekeepers for accessing these specialty drugs, balancing medical and nonmedical considerations.
• Consumer pressure to 'live better' through performance-enhancing products is rising.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how physicians weigh medical versus nonmedical factors in prescribing life-enhancing products.
• To examine pediatric endocrinologists' decisions regarding growth hormone (GH) prescriptions for short, healthy children.
• To understand the trade-offs influencing consumer access to these treatments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a conjoint study design integrating consumer and medical research.
• Analyzed US pediatric endocrinologists' prescription decisions for growth hormone (GH).
• Examined the influence of consumer requests, perceived benefits, cost, and physician experience.

Main Results:

• Consumer medical criteria had less impact if the patient requested GH or the physician believed in intangible benefits.
• Prescription likelihood increased with higher product cost, indicating a complex decision-making process.
• Physician experience moderated the influence of medical criteria and patient preference.

Conclusions:

• Access to life-enhancing products like GH is not uniform for all consumers.
• Physician prescription decisions involve a complex interplay of consumer, product, and physician-related factors.
• Medical and nonmedical considerations significantly shape patient access to advanced therapies.