Senate Panel To Hold Hearing on Direct-To-Consumer Ads for Medical Devices

The Senate Special Committee on Aging on Wednesday plans to hold a hearing to discuss recommendations by lawmakers, medical groups and others for restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising for medical devices because of concerns that the ads can mislead patients, the New York Times reports. In 2007, medical device companies spent about $193 million on DTC ads, almost double the amount spent in 2005, according to the consulting company TNS Media Intelligence. Spending on DTC ads for medical devices "represents just a small fraction of the volume of consumer advertising for prescription drugs," but "some experts maintain that the advertising of a medical device can have more of an impact on a patient's well-being than a drug, because devices often require surgery to implant and may remain inside the body for years," according to the Times.

In a statement, committee Chair Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) said that he decided to hold the hearing because FDA might have to increase regulation of DTC ads for medical devices, as the agency has done for similar ads for prescription drugs. Witnesses expected to testify at the hearing include Kevin Bozic, an orthopedics professor at the University of California-San Francisco who recently wrote a medical journal article that criticized DTC ads for medical devices, and a Consumers Union official who maintains that such ads should have to provide a balance between the benefits and risks of products, a requirement for DTC ads for prescription drugs.

David Nexon, a senior official at the Advanced Medical Technology Association, said that the group considers current FDA regulation of DTC ads for medical devices adequate. He said that, although such ads might encourage patients to ask their physicians about medical devices, the actual use of the products requires a discussion about benefits and risks. Nexon said, "You may take a pill because it doesn't involve very much," adding, "But you don't undergo surgery unless you think you have a serious need for it" (Meier, New York Times, 9/17).