Medical marketing grew from $17.7 billion in 1997 to $29.9 billion in 2016, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Lisa Schwartz, MD, and Steven Woloshin, MD, of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, analyzed data on consumer advertising and professional marketing, regulations and legal actions from multiple government bodies, peer-reviewed medical literature, business journals, and news media in order to estimate marketing spending.
The greatest driver of marketing growth from 1997 to 2016 came from direct-to-consumer advertising for pharmaceuticals and medical services. This advertising increased from $2.1 billion in 1997 to $9.6 billion in 2016. Most direct-to-consumer advertising came from pharmaceutical companies, which spent $6 billion in 2016.
"Despite the increase in marketing over 20 years, regulatory oversight remains limited," the researchers wrote.
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