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# Medical Marketing Grows, Oversight Limited: Study
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/medical-marketing-grows-oversight-limited-study/
- Published: 2019-01-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:52:58.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5143111

Researchers at the Center for Medicine in the Media and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy say that medical marketing increased substantially from 1997 through 2016, especially direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads for prescription drugs and health services. Writing in a *Journal of the American Medical Association* [special communication](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2720007?guestAccessKey=ada0e52b-3db4-4dbc-aefb-a7f0b2792f82&utm%5Fsource=silverchair&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=article%5Falert-jama&utm%5Fcontent=etoc&utm%5Fterm=010819), the researchers say that pharmaceutical marketing to health professionals accounted for most spending and remains high, even with new policies to limit industry influence. “Despite the increase in marketing over 20 years,” the report says, “regulatory oversight remains limited.”

The researchers describe the marketing of medicine as a complex interaction involving industry, organizations, and individuals involved in healthcare. The special communication reviews in detail marketing of prescription drugs, disease awareness campaigns, health services, and laboratory tests to consumers and professionals, and examines the consequences and regulation of medical marketing in the U.S. over the 20-year study period.

From 1999 to 2016, it says, medical marketing spending increased from $17.7 billion to $29.9 billion, with DTC advertising for prescription drugs and health services accounting for the most rapid growth, and pharmaceutical marketing to health professionals accounting for most promotional spending.