Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the most part has remained a nearly unknown treatment in the world of western medicine. There may be many reasons for this, but none more important than the lack of awareness on the part of both physicians and the general community. With the advent of the information age, numerous websites are providing more and more information on hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This growth of information is making consumers more aware of therapies available for various health concerns through the Internet. Although this is a good thing, the fact remains that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is still as unfamiliar a treatment as it was prior to the birth of the information age.

What else can be done to bring about the awareness of HBO? Are we doing everything we can to increase the awareness of this therapy?

Instead of answering these questions myself, I looked to what the pharmaceutical companies are doing to promote their prescription medications. Since 1997 direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medications has been the key element in the success of the pharmaceutical industry. With reported returns as low as 21 percent and as high as 116 percent, DTC advertising has proven to be the trump card of the pharmaceutical companies. In this article we will explore the benefits and possible risks of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising and what effects it could have on the hyperbaric community as a whole if we choose to employ it. Furthermore, we will examine how DTC advertising has affected the consumers in making health care decisions as well as its success in increasing the awareness, and inevitably the demand for the advertised drugs.

Advertising hyperbaric oxygen therapy is uncharted territory for the most part. The high cost of mainstream print and media advertising in comparison with small returns makes advertising unjustifiable. Those that have tried to advertise hyperbaric oxygen therapy only do so on a small scale for a high price. The frequency (number of times an ad runs) required for effectiveness is usually in direct conflict to the available financial resources budgeted for most centers. Budget constraints are a major factor in any clinical hyperbaric program. Without the financial resources, promoting a hyperbaric program through advertising seems to be an unattainable goal. This results in direct mail and cold calling campaigns to physicians in hopes that they will refer patients for HBO therapy. Knowing that direct mail usually ends up in the wastebasket, I tried it anyway. As a freestanding facility, taking the time to send out 5000 mailers and getting 2 patients out of it is justifiable marketing as long as it pays for itself. In this particular case it did not.

Frustrated by this poor response to direct mail marketing, I looked at what pharmaceutical companies were doing to promote their prescription drugs. What I found was phenomenal: they have been promoting directly to both physicians and consumers. With an all time success rate credited mostly to DTC advertising (direct-to-consumer), pharmaceutical companies are showing profits above their projected yearly goals.

Spend money to make money

The advertising for prescription drugs has exploded in recent years according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). We all have seen and heard these promotions on TV, radio, and full page magazines like Time, Newsweek, GQ and the like. The drug companies are doing the smartest thing they can do in marketing by going directly to the folks who buy the end products---consumers.

Advertising prescription drugs using the same principles as for regular consumer products like soap, toothpaste, or canned goods is clever and highly effective. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising has increased annual sales. Changes in the political and regulatory climate, cultural shifts emphasizing the patient’s role in making medical decisions, and expanding profits from drug sales have encouraged the pharmaceutical industry to pursue more direct marketing strategies.1

Thank the FDA

It was the FDA that sparked this recent rapid growth in mass media advertising of prescription drugs. In 1997, the FDA laid out the rules for advertising prescription drugs to the pharmaceutical companies. This action made it easier for the pharmaceutical companies to launch their DTC campaigns without fearing the FDA’s intervention.