For every 100 consumers who read your DTC ad:

7 people will receive a prescription* 6 people will get the prescription filled** 4 will make it to the first refill** 3 will make it to the second refill** 2 will make it to the third refill** Only 1 person will make it to the fourth or fifth refill** * Prevention Magazine 1999 Survey of Consumer Reactions to Direct-to-Consumer Advertising ** Consumer Health Information Corporation Patient Compliance Database

Don't sell your product short. The fact is that by the time of the fourth refill, you've lost more than half of your potential refill market ... which is larger than the initial prescription market. If you could motivate all 6 patients who had the initial prescription filled to continue getting their refills, you would increase your product's sales to 24 by the time of the fourth refill. Today, you're lucky if you have 10 product sales by the time of the fourth or fifth refill. Even worse, drop-out patients will not respond fully to your product. Physicians may conclude your product doesn't work. Keep the momentum of your DTC ad going. Convince the patient to take your product over the long term. Link your DTC strategy to an overall patient compliance program. Ensure that patients receive the full benefit of your medication, and you get the maximum ROI.