Critics Say FDA Not Scrutinizing Misleading Health Ads Equally

Modern Healthcare (8/19, Rice, Subscription Publication) reports that since launching in 2010, the Food and Drug Administration’s “Bad Ad” campaign has received “nearly 800 complaints” regarding “potentially misleading or imbalanced drug advertisements.” The actions taken in response to complaints are unclear, and an FDA spokesperson said: “We don’t track this metric, as the goal of the program is to raise awareness of misleading advertising and not to increase enforcement actions.” Meanwhile, clinicians and policy leaders “say there’s far less scrutiny for medical devices and other health services” than drugs. The FDA “says complaints about medical devices are forwarded to the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, which enforces violations against federal ad regulations” and the Federal Trade Commission “may also take actions separately based upon its own jurisdiction.”