Critical Reasoning

jainrahul1985 wrote:It is illegal to advertise prescription medications in Hedland except directly to physicians, either by mail or in medical journals. A proposed law would allow general advertising of prescription medications. Opponents object that the general population lacks the specialized knowledge to evaluate such advertisements and might ask their physicians for inappropriate medications. But since physicians have the final say as to whether to prescribe a medication for a patient, inappropriate prescriptions would not become more common.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

Conclusion: Advertising prescription drugs to patients won't cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written because physicians decide whether to prescribe the medication.

Assumption: The argument assumes that there is no link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.

To evaluate the argument, we need an answer choice that strengthens or weakens the link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.
Which answer choice will help us to determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions?

(A) Whether advertising for prescription medications might alert patients to the existence of effective treatments for minor ailments that they had previously thought to be untreatable. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(B) Whether some people might go to a physician for no reason other than to ask for a particular medication they have seen advertised This answer tells us that patients might go to the doctor in order to get an advertised medication, but it doesn't help us to determine whether doctors actually will prescribe the medication.

(C) Whether the proposed law requires prescription-medication advertisements directed to the general public to provide the same information as do advertisements directed to physicians. Doesn't help us determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions.

(D) Whether advertisements for prescription medications are currently an important source of information about newly available medications for physicians. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(E) Whether physicians would give in to a patient's demand for a prescription medication chosen by the patient when the one originally prescribed by the physician fails to perform as desired. This answer connects what patients want to what doctors prescribe. If doctors prescribe a medication simply because their patients demand it, then advertising drugs to patients might cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written.

The correct answer is E.

arora007 wrote:Hi Mitch, could you please explain why D is not even in the scope of the answers...
for me it was an answer choice between D and E.

I was targeting "inappropriate prescriptions BECOMING more common" whether it was with the patient's influence or without the patient's influence... is my reasoning wrong..?

GMATGuruNY wrote:

jainrahul1985 wrote:It is illegal to advertise prescription medications in Hedland except directly to physicians, either by mail or in medical journals. A proposed law would allow general advertising of prescription medications. Opponents object that the general population lacks the specialized knowledge to evaluate such advertisements and might ask their physicians for inappropriate medications. But since physicians have the final say as to whether to prescribe a medication for a patient, inappropriate prescriptions would not become more common.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

Conclusion: Advertising prescription drugs to patients won't cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written because physicians decide whether to prescribe the medication.

Assumption: The argument assumes that there is no link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.

To evaluate the argument, we need an answer choice that strengthens or weakens the link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.
Which answer choice will help us to determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions?

(A) Whether advertising for prescription medications might alert patients to the existence of effective treatments for minor ailments that they had previously thought to be untreatable. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(B) Whether some people might go to a physician for no reason other than to ask for a particular medication they have seen advertised This answer tells us that patients might go to the doctor in order to get an advertised medication, but it doesn't help us to determine whether doctors actually will prescribe the medication.

(C) Whether the proposed law requires prescription-medication advertisements directed to the general public to provide the same information as do advertisements directed to physicians. Doesn't help us determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions.

(D) Whether advertisements for prescription medications are currently an important source of information about newly available medications for physicians. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(E) Whether physicians would give in to a patient's demand for a prescription medication chosen by the patient when the one originally prescribed by the physician fails to perform as desired. This answer connects what patients want to what doctors prescribe. If doctors prescribe a medication simply because their patients demand it, then advertising drugs to patients might cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written.

The correct answer is E.

Dear Mitch, I need your help.

I do not branstorm the assumption like your assumption. Instead, I brainstorm assumption that physicians are alway good.

Did you brainstorm your assumption before going to answer choices? How do you brainstorm the right assumption? Please, write down the steps of your thoughts. Thank you very much.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

jainrahul1985 wrote:It is illegal to advertise prescription medications in Hedland except directly to physicians, either by mail or in medical journals. A proposed law would allow general advertising of prescription medications. Opponents object that the general population lacks the specialized knowledge to evaluate such advertisements and might ask their physicians for inappropriate medications. But since physicians have the final say as to whether to prescribe a medication for a patient, inappropriate prescriptions would not become more common.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

Conclusion: Advertising prescription drugs to patients won't cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written because physicians decide whether to prescribe the medication.

Assumption: The argument assumes that there is no link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.

To evaluate the argument, we need an answer choice that strengthens or weakens the link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.
Which answer choice will help us to determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions?

(A) Whether advertising for prescription medications might alert patients to the existence of effective treatments for minor ailments that they had previously thought to be untreatable. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(B) Whether some people might go to a physician for no reason other than to ask for a particular medication they have seen advertised This answer tells us that patients might go to the doctor in order to get an advertised medication, but it doesn't help us to determine whether doctors actually will prescribe the medication.

(C) Whether the proposed law requires prescription-medication advertisements directed to the general public to provide the same information as do advertisements directed to physicians. Doesn't help us determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions.

(D) Whether advertisements for prescription medications are currently an important source of information about newly available medications for physicians. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(E) Whether physicians would give in to a patient's demand for a prescription medication chosen by the patient when the one originally prescribed by the physician fails to perform as desired. This answer connects what patients want to what doctors prescribe. If doctors prescribe a medication simply because their patients demand it, then advertising drugs to patients might cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written.

The correct answer is E.

Hi Mitch , I have question regarding this post . I marked ans choice B because the argument says that the doctor will have a final say in prescribing the drugs . Ans choice B says Whether some people might go to a physician for no reason other than to ask for a particular medication they have seen advertised.
Now if some patients don't go to the doctor for just asking about a medication that they have seen advertised than the argument that the doc will have a final say falls apart. The patients won't go to the doctor and so can take any good/harmful drug . What am i assuming wrong here?

GMATGuruNY wrote:

jainrahul1985 wrote:It is illegal to advertise prescription medications in Hedland except directly to physicians, either by mail or in medical journals. A proposed law would allow general advertising of prescription medications. Opponents object that the general population lacks the specialized knowledge to evaluate such advertisements and might ask their physicians for inappropriate medications. But since physicians have the final say as to whether to prescribe a medication for a patient, inappropriate prescriptions would not become more common.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

Conclusion: Advertising prescription drugs to patients won't cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written because physicians decide whether to prescribe the medication.

Assumption: The argument assumes that there is no link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.

To evaluate the argument, we need an answer choice that strengthens or weakens the link between what patients want and what doctors prescribe.
Which answer choice will help us to determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions?

(A) Whether advertising for prescription medications might alert patients to the existence of effective treatments for minor ailments that they had previously thought to be untreatable. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(B) Whether some people might go to a physician for no reason other than to ask for a particular medication they have seen advertised This answer tells us that patients might go to the doctor in order to get an advertised medication, but it doesn't help us to determine whether doctors actually will prescribe the medication.

(C) Whether the proposed law requires prescription-medication advertisements directed to the general public to provide the same information as do advertisements directed to physicians. Doesn't help us determine whether doctors will write inappropriate prescriptions.

(D) Whether advertisements for prescription medications are currently an important source of information about newly available medications for physicians. Doesn't connect what patients want to what doctors prescribe. Doesn't help us to determine whether doctors will prescribe inappropriate medications.

(E) Whether physicians would give in to a patient's demand for a prescription medication chosen by the patient when the one originally prescribed by the physician fails to perform as desired. This answer connects what patients want to what doctors prescribe. If doctors prescribe a medication simply because their patients demand it, then advertising drugs to patients might cause inappropriate prescriptions to be written.

The correct answer is E.

Hello Mitch,

Can we deploy negation strategy to solve evaluate questions?

Anaira Mitch wrote:Hello Mitch,

Can we deploy negation strategy to solve evaluate questions?