One difference between Canadian and American health care is that the US government allows research-based drug makers to advertise the benefits of their medicines to patients, but the Canadian government outlaws this freedom of speech. Unfortunately, the Canadian Medical Association Journal (the Canadian equivalent of the Journal of the American Medical Association) has encouraged Canadas government to maintain this restriction.
advertising prescription drugs
September 22, 2003
2:00AM
According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, our government should continue to prohibit research-based drug makers from communicating with patients through direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). A survey reported in the latest issue of the journal that shows that patients who request advertised drugs from their doctors are much more likely to receive prescriptions than patients who do not.