'Puffing' in medical advertising expands liability.
Advertising is nothing new to the medical profession, although for many years reputable doctors did not advertise their skills. In 1975, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) successfully argued in a case that was appealed to the Supreme Court that the AMA had unlawfully restricted medical advertising. While the FTC usurped the job of policing medical advertising, it seems to regard medical adverstising as a local problem not worthy of FTC attention. It has avoided setting standards for medical advertising and has failed to initiate significant enforcement against deceptive medical advertising. This article briefly reviews the historical role of advertising in modern American medicine and discusses advertising in relation to risk management.
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D000329:Advertising / Q000592:standards; D000574:American Medical Association; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States; D014485:United States Federal Trade Commission