Americans say drug makers doing "bad job" serving public, poll finds
The Substance
Saturday, February 26, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
Americans say drug makers doing "bad job" serving public, poll finds
By Marc Kaufman
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly believe prescription drugs improve their health and quality of life significantly, but almost as many say pharmaceutical companies put profits ahead of consumers, according to a new poll released yesterday.
The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 78 percent of adults say prescription drugs make a "big difference" in people's lives, and 91 percent believe drug companies contribute significantly to society by researching and developing new drugs.
But 70 percent believe pharmaceutical companies are more concerned "about making profits" than developing new drugs, according to the survey.
The poll also found that a majority of Americans in 2004 said for the first time that drug companies overall do a "bad job" of serving customers. In 1997, when the survey began, 79 percent of those polled said drug companies did a "good job" for consumers.
With public views of the big drug companies becoming more critical, the poll found that a large majority of Americans want the government to do more to reduce drug costs — with 65 percent saying they want more regulation of prices and 73 percent favoring changes that would allow Americans to buy drugs from Canada. More than half, 51 percent, say they want more regulation of drug advertising.
"Rightly or wrongly, drug companies are now the number one villain in the public's eye when it comes to rising health-care costs," Foundation President Drew Altman said.
Drug companies say they need high profits to plow money back into expensive research and development, but the poll found that about 80 percent of respondents did not believe that argument.
The sliding approval ratings put the pharmaceutical industry in the company of oil companies and managed-care organizations in terms of how favorably the public views their efforts.
The Kaiser poll was taken in early February and surveyed 1,201 people older than 18. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
About 50 percent of Americans now take at least one prescription drug, and 17 percent of Americans take four or more.
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
70 percent believe pharmaceutical companies are more concerned "about making profits" than developing new drugs, according to the survey. The poll also found that a majority of Americans in 2004 said for the first time that drug companies overall do a "bad job" of serving customers.
With public views of the big drug companies becoming more critical, the poll found that a large majority of Americans want the government to do more to reduce drug costs — with 65 percent saying they want more regulation of prices and 73 percent favoring changes that would allow Americans to buy drugs from Canada.
Saturday, February 26, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
Americans say drug makers doing "bad job" serving public, poll finds
By Marc Kaufman
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly believe prescription drugs improve their health and quality of life significantly, but almost as many say pharmaceutical companies put profits ahead of consumers, according to a new poll released yesterday.
The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 78 percent of adults say prescription drugs make a "big difference" in people's lives, and 91 percent believe drug companies contribute significantly to society by researching and developing new drugs.
But 70 percent believe pharmaceutical companies are more concerned "about making profits" than developing new drugs, according to the survey.
The poll also found that a majority of Americans in 2004 said for the first time that drug companies overall do a "bad job" of serving customers. In 1997, when the survey began, 79 percent of those polled said drug companies did a "good job" for consumers.
With public views of the big drug companies becoming more critical, the poll found that a large majority of Americans want the government to do more to reduce drug costs — with 65 percent saying they want more regulation of prices and 73 percent favoring changes that would allow Americans to buy drugs from Canada. More than half, 51 percent, say they want more regulation of drug advertising.
"Rightly or wrongly, drug companies are now the number one villain in the public's eye when it comes to rising health-care costs," Foundation President Drew Altman said.
Drug companies say they need high profits to plow money back into expensive research and development, but the poll found that about 80 percent of respondents did not believe that argument.
The sliding approval ratings put the pharmaceutical industry in the company of oil companies and managed-care organizations in terms of how favorably the public views their efforts.
The Kaiser poll was taken in early February and surveyed 1,201 people older than 18. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
About 50 percent of Americans now take at least one prescription drug, and 17 percent of Americans take four or more.
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
posted by JimG at 12:27 PM
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