title: Is medical advertising always unethical, or does it just seem to be?
abstract: Dr C. Lever is the undisputed expert in a new endovascular procedure he developed and brought to fruition over the years. Other professionals publishing their results call it by his name, although he has strictly avoided that nomenclature. Lever is at a medical center with several participating hospitals, which boast aggressive ultracompetitive marketing departments. His hospital wants to concentrate on him as proof that the best care is available at their facility. A successful campaign certainly would add to Lever's and perhaps to his group's referrals. He looks at the first advertisement and a Greek god would have been less vaunted but nothing said is untrue. What should he do? A. Ask that all advertising identifying him be discontinued immediately. B.Tell them to hype it up. C. Ask that marketing stick to the facts completely sans hype. D. Check with the Ethics Committee of the hospital. E. Check with the Ethics Committee of the American Medical Association (AMA) or American College of Surgeons or the appropriate surgical subspecialty professional association.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex. Electronic address: jwjones@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: The Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex.
authors.forename: Laurence B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: McCullough
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000941:ethics*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000941:ethics*; D028741:Ethics Committees, Clinical; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000941:ethics*; D010819:Physician's Role; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics*