Doctors’ Attitude Toward Patient Demand and Direct-To-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertisements in Pakistan

Since the COVID-19 phenomenon has emerged, e-patient attitudes have created a new normal for abnormal situations. This study sees how the patient demands will affect physician persistence habits from the perspective of physician-patient relationship, which is reinforced by increased digital health advertisements such as direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertisements. In this respect, primary data was collected from 300 doctors of Peshawar, using cluster random sampling through an adapted questionnaire and applied Creswell (2014) mixed method. SPSS-AMOs was utilized to evaluate the data from the first phase. In the second phase, Atlas.ti was applied to validate the first phase results. Patient demands backed by direct to consumer advertisements are more likely to be considered by physicians. Escalated physician patient relationship can also serve as a partial mediator between patient demand and physician persistence habits. Moreover, DTCPA has a direct effect on physician persistence habits and moderates the mediation of physician-patient relationship between patient demand and physician persistence habits. Consequently, majority of physicians advocate the use of DTCPA to raise patient awareness and allow them to express unspoken concerns to physicians. However, self-medication and unnecessary patient interventions may increase healthcare risks. The study contributes to the substantial body of knowledge about DTCPA's impact on Pakistani physicians and physician–patient relationship by modifying the behavioral theories.