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Patrick Aysseh, for
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For Immediate Release:

National Study of Consumer Behavior Reveals 87% Who Ask Their Doctor for a Specific Drug Will Get It; However, More Than a Third Will Stop Taking Medications Prematurely

One-Third of Consumers Are Interested in Prescription Drug Ads But Cite Internet As Most Widely Used Source of Health Information; Doctors, Pharmacists & Other Healthcare Professionals Still Considered Most Trustworthy

New York, NY - June 14, 2006 - A vast majority of consumers (87%) who ask their doctor for a specific drug will receive it, according to a new study conducted by MRxHealth in conjunction with Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) magazine.

The nationally representative study of U.S. Patient Behavior which polled 546 consumers, also revealed that a significant number of patients (36%) stop taking their medications without talking to their doctors. Reasons cited include: side effects (33%); symptoms went away (25%); and cost (18%). Even though a majority of respondents found healthcare professionals trustworthy, nearly one-quarter (24%) of those surveyed lack confidence in them. This group of concerned consumers is twice as likely (72%) to stop taking their medications.

“This study clearly shows that consumers are actively seeking out health information and talking to their doctors to get specific drugs. The findings also revealed a serious lapse in the continuation of these medications. In our research, we also examined language, format and channels to further determine the most effective ways to communicate with consumers," notes Cheryl Lubbert, President of MRxHealth.

The study which is reported in the June issue of MM&M was carried out in two parts: Phase I focused on consumers’ motivations behind looking for information, the sources used, the frequency of searching and how the information was used. Phase II compared the learning styles and language preferences of the groups identified in Phase I. The research also yielded a comparison of different information sources, including reach, frequency of use and trustworthiness, along with their ability to motivate a conversation with a doctor and instigate a prescription request. Additional major findings of the study include:

Motivation For Seeking Health Information and Frequency of Use
Respondents were asked to rate their overall health and as a result were divided into four distinct groups: Poor Health (9%), Low-Average Health (31%), High-Average Health (38%) and Good Health (21%). Information-seeking motivation, behaviors and uses differed among these four groups.

Respondents with high-average or good health are more likely to seek information to maximize their overall health than all others. Those with poor or low-average health tend to look for information on a situational basis, when they (or a friend or family member) experience a problem. According to the MRxHealth/MM&M Patient Behavior Study, a small proportion (6%) never look for information about health, and don’t pay attention to it when they come across it. The majority (51%) of patients seek health information two or three times a month.

Compliance and Persistency
Seventy-two percent of all health groups who stopped taking their drugs lack confidence in their healthcare provider. Poor and low-average health groups are one and a half times more likely to report that they stopped taking a prescription drug without talking to their doctor. The primary reason for stopping treatment differs: the poor and low-average health groups report side effects, while the high-average and good health groups cite improvement in their conditions. The study also found that high-average and good health groups report better relationships with their physicians than the low-average health group on every element measured.

“It’s worth noting that lack of trust in the competence of medical professionals is, for the most part, an undisclosed and untreated complication interfering with adherence and persistence. Left untreated, undisclosed distrust will play havoc with efforts to improve adherence and persistence,” states MM&M’s Editor-In-Chief, James Chase.

Use of Health Information
Among all respondents, 87% report that, having requested a specific drug, their physician prescribed it. Those with poor health are also three times more likely than those in good health to have asked their physician for a specific medication.

The perceived trustworthiness of health information sources clearly varies between channels with the doctor (4.38) pharmacist (4.25) and other healthcare professionals (3.96) scoring the highest on a 1 to 5 scale. Radio (3.06), television (3.19), newspapers (3.30) and magazines (3.42) ranked lowest. Telephone support lines, in-person support groups, advocacy organizations, friends and family and health insurance plans fell in the middle.

But the actions patients take regarding these different channels doesn’t necessarily correlate with the level of trust. For example, the Internet has a lower trust score (3.67) than pharmacists (4.25), yet it drives a greater proportion of people to ask for a specific drug (34% vs. 27%).

The channels that were found to be most effective in getting a consumer to ask for a specific drug was the Internet (34%), family or friends (33%) and television (31%). Telephone support lines (2%), newspaper (3%), in-person support groups (4%), radio (4%) and books (4%) were the least effective.

The Internet was the channel most used by respondents as their source of information with 81% reporting the use it. Other entities with significant reach include the doctor (70%) family or friends (51%), the pharmacist (47%), magazines (38%), books (36%) and television (30%). All other formats reach less than thirty percent including: health professionals, insurance plans, newspapers and national advocacy groups, among others.

Openness To Advertising
One-third of respondents say they are interested in ads for prescription drugs. Those with poor health are nearly twice as interested in ads as the very healthy group (45% vs. 24%). The poor and low-average health groups are more likely to recall specific products named in the ads (66%) compared to average recall of 52%. The poor health group is also more likely to say that ads for prescription drugs are helpful.

Effectiveness of Ad/Information Formats and Language Preferences
The MRxHealth/MM&M Patient Behavior Study found that all formats fared well for comprehension, ranging from 82% to 76%. Those respondents who were exposed to the audio version of health information scored significantly higher than those exposed to the text or interactive versions.

Respondents were asked to state their preference between pairs of words to determine which are best to use when providing health information. Preferences include: nutritional (58%) vs. tasty; individual vs. family (65%); healthcare (60%) vs. medical; medication (62%) vs. remedy; clinical vs. hospital (51%); older (66%) vs. elderly; and illness (64%) vs. disease.

“It’s critical for pharmaceutical companies to understand their consumer audience: not just how sick they are or how well they recall advertising or how often they visit particular Web sites,” explains MM&M’s James Chase. “Marketers need to know what factors affect the way that different groups seek and use healthcare information. They need to be able to identify these groups so needs of different audiences can be addressed with specific direct-to-patient messages,” he states in the article.

In addition to this research, the study also included a multidimensional PATH model (Profiles of Activities and Attitudes Towards Healthcare). PATH is a systematic approach to revealing otherwise unseen patterns of healthcare-related behaviors and attitudes—archetypes— among adults that shape the healthcare outcomes. The PATH model segments the sample into nine groups (or archetypes) defined by responses to statements that assess an individual’s reaction to 11 health issues. The complete Medical Marketing & Media article is available at http://www.mmm-online.com/content/fileadmin/files/features/2006/DTP_Survey.pdf and an executive summary of this study and methodology is available at www.MRxHealth.com/news.

About MRxHealth
MRxHealth, part of Informed Medical Communications, is a market research and consulting firm providing insights into the communication dynamic among physicians, patients and payors.

About Informed Medical Communications
Informed Medical Communication (www.informedmedical.com), headquartered in New York City, was formed in 2005 through the merger of The Peer Group, an industry innovator and leader in conducting peer-to-peer medical programs, and HealthTalk, a pioneer in providing disease information and support resources that empower patients and caregivers coping with serious medical conditions to proactively and effectively manage their diseases. Since the merger, IMC has launched RxDialogue, a consumer relationship marketing company designed to give patients a deeper understanding of benefits and risks of treatment options in a highly personalized format not provided in traditional advertising and MRxHealth, a market research and consulting firm that provides biopharmaceutical marketers with insights into the development and effectiveness of non-traditional marketing programs for physicians and patients. The IMC network of companies delivers integrated marketing programs for patients and medical professionals, with the goal of improving the dialogue among patients and physicians in understanding health conditions and their medical options. IMC is a private-equity backed, privately held company.

About Medical Marketing & Media
Medical Marketing & Media delivers balanced, relevant and authoritative coverage to an audience of pharmaceutical marketers, agencies and medical publishers. Each month, MM&M offers quality news, analysis, feature articles and opinions covering a variety of topics — from the key players, products and advertising campaigns, to the regulatory issues, marketing strategies and business moves that affect them. Industry executives frequently contribute their opinions and expertise throughout the publication. Complementing the regular offerings is an array of annual surveys, special reports and themed issues, each delivering important analysis and fresh insight, and providing decision makers with an invaluable set of reference tools.

MM&M is produced with independence and authority, and with the highest regard to editorial standards and innovative design. An editorial advisory board of seasoned experts representing all areas of the industry helps identify key trends and issues, ensuring that the MM&M finger is firmly on the pulse of the industry. MM&M also produces a weekly newsletter, MM&M News Brief, with daily news updates at www.mmm-online.com, and also runs the industry’s premier annual awards program, The MM&M Awards. As part of Haymarket Media Inc., MM&M adheres to the corporate goal of market leadership through editorial that is balanced, accurate and precisely targeted.

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Study methodology and summary
Background: Informed Medical Communications’ MRxHealth, together with MM&M, commissioned a two-phase general-population study among U.S. consumers to profile their health information seeking preferences.

Research Design: An online questionnaire was used to collect feedback from 546 U.S. adult consumers representing a range of ages and genders. Participants were recruited from an online survey database of more than 4 million opted-in members. Data were weighted to represent census proportions for age and gender nationally, and the findings of this research are considered to be generally representative of the U.S. adult population with access to the Internet.

Key Findings: Phase I found that motivations for seeking health information, behaviors surrounding that search, how the information is used and the openness to Rx ads vary based on the individual’s overall health and health behaviors, priorities and attitudes. Further, this research also yielded a comprehensive comparison of the various sources that deliver health information.

Phase II compared the learning styles and language preferences of the groups identified in Phase I of the project. The findings suggest that while an individual’s overall health rating was somewhat predictive of their preferences and behavior, the more complex segments derived from stated health values were more directly related to differences and were, therefore, more useful in predicting behavior.