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Keeping healthy - the value of information
16 May, 2006
A team of researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast
Faculty of Business have found that today's consumers are much more
involved in their own healthcare than in the past.
Whilst the local doctor is still an important source of
information, 'savvy' consumers seek additional information from
other sources.
In the United States and New Zealand consumers have the benefit
of
Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines
whilst in Australia consumers are only exposed to 'disease
awareness' advertisements from pharmaceutical companies. Consumers
welcome these additional sources of information.
Associate Professor Michael Harker and Associate Professor Debra
Harker from the University recently delivered their research
findings to senior Government officials in New Zealand and to
senior executives from the Pharmaceutical industry. Similar
presentations are planned for Australia in June.
The world spends in excess of US$3,000 billion on general
healthcare and the world market for pharmaceutical medicines is
worth over US$400 billion per annum.
Pharmaceutical companies spend over $30 billion every year on
developing and testing new treatments in the battle to keep
consumers free from pain and disease.
And consumers need to be kept informed of new and better
medicines so that they can have better and meaningful discussions
with their doctors and gain access to new treatments.
Consumers in the United States and New Zealand, whilst
appreciating the benefits of medicines, felt that the side-effects
of treatments and effects on other medications being taken were not
always easy to discover.
Associate Professor Michael Harker said that DTCA does have a
role to play in that education of consumers and he was pleased to
report that as a result of the research findings, senior industry
people in New Zealand had set up a working party to explore ways in
which consumers could be more fully informed.