US public's view of pharma plummets

The percentage of Americans who believe the pharmaceutical industry isdoing a good job of serving its consumers has fallen 20 points since 1997, from 79% to 59% now, according to Harris Interactive's annual tracking of public perceptions of major industries.

Public views of how other health care providers serve their customers have also declined, with 67% saying that hospitals do a good job, down from 77%, support for health insurance companies down to 39% from 55%, and appreciation for managed care companies, such as health maintenance organizations, dropping from 51% to 29%, it says.

37% of the 1,014 people polled this year for the survey told Harris that pharmaceutical companies were doing a bad job of serving their customers, as did 26% for hospitals, 57% for health insurance companies and 59% for MCOs.