We’ve been talking a lot here about physicians and the business of running a medical practice. Lately, I have been seeing a growing number of physicians advertise on television. This makes me wonder – Should physicians advertise for their services?
In some circles many feel that it is unethical for physicians to advertise. It is sort of like ambulance chasing attorneys. More and more I am seeing cheesy ads by Plastic Surgeons on TV. They brag about how you can get a breast augmentation and how no one will even know. They talk about how they stand out above all other plastic surgeons. It all seems so tacky to me, kind of like the lawyers who advertise on TV.
Everybody knows that when you look for a lawyer you don’t find one from a TV ad. In general you find one by word of mouth and referral. The same goes for doctors. If you want to find a good specialist, you see your primary care physician who refers you to who they think is a good specialist. That is the way insurance companies want the business to work. Your primary care physician is the “gatekeeper” who handles and approves the referrals.
Television advertising does appeal to mass populations. However, most lay persons do not know who is a good doctor and who is a bad doctor. Although there are websites out there that now provide patient feedback and opinion on doctors, the truth is that only people who work closely with that doctor know how good they are. Thus one good way to find a doctor is to get in touch with your doctor friends and people who work in the healthcare industry. They will give you the skinny on that doctor you are considering seeing.
So what is the deal with physicians and advertising? Well you will find that physicians who advertise do so because they are in a lucrative field and want to drive up their business. Alternatively it may be the medical center or hospital they work at who would like to advertise a special “center” where that doctor works. For example, a regional cardiac center may want to brag that they have the best heart specialists. Thus they will put up a billboard or TV spot advertising their center with the faces and names of their heart doctors.
In general I believe doctors have the right to advertise their business, but I am not a big fan of it because I don’t believe it places physicians in a good light.
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JC: The analogy between doctors and lawyers is excellent and might even include dentists. In general, I much prefer non-US doctors who may work under a socialized system (Germany, UK, Canada, etc.) but seem to provide much better “people service” even though the “equipment” may be superior here. Even Argentina, where I had my last medical incident, provided much more actual care and concern for me, as a patient, than any US hospital which seems far more concerned with dollars (icuding unnecessary pills!) and fear of law suits. That, of course, derives from the American litigious sentiment, and the union structure of the AMA. Doctors may refer back to the of Greek requirement…. If the AMA’s power and influence were significantly reduced, we might see more doctors and nurses and a more humanistic approach to medicine.
I see no problem with physicians advertizing their services. Nevertheless, ads on TV vulgarizes the service and probably the client. for large cities, ads may take another form, away from TV and focused on the web. Adding up ads in sites that empower the patient brings synergy. Such should enphasize academic, medical specialty accreditation, facilities, insurancers accepted, etc.
TVs is for vaccum cleaners, not physicians. Anyone booking a physician through a TV ad should be “locked up”.