CHICAGO
(AP) — Many of the nation's top-ranked medical centers employ
some of the same advertising techniques doctors often criticize
drug companies for — concealing risks and playing on fear,
vanity and other emotions to attract patients, a study found.
The
study of newspaper ads by 17 top-rated university medical
centers highlights the conflict between serving public health
and making money, the researchers said.
Some ads, especially those touting specific services, might
create a sense of need in otherwise healthy patients and "seem
to put the financial interests of the academic medical center
ahead of the best interests of the patients," they said.
Hospital officials defended their ads as fair, ethically sound
and necessary in a competitive market.
The centers studied were on U.S. News & World Report's 2002
honor roll of the nation's best hospitals, including Johns
Hopkins' medical center, Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts
General Hospital, the University of Chicago Hospitals and
Vanderbilt University's medical center.
"We do Botox!" one analyzed ad proclaims. Another depicts
a spilled cup of coffee symbolizing a woman's heart attack
— potentially evoking fear in a tactic more commonly associated
with pharmaceutical ads than respected hospitals, said lead
author Dr. Robin Larson, a researcher at the Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.
The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
Of 122 ads designed to attract patients and published in newspapers
in 2002, 21 promoted specific services, including Botox anti-wrinkle
injections and laser eye surgery. Only one of the 21 ads mentioned
the risks. Most of the 122 ads — 62% — used an emotional appeal
to attract patients.
One third used slogans focusing on technology, fostering a
misperception that high-tech medicine is always better, the
researchers said.
"As a result, patients may be given false hopes and unrealistic
expectations," they said.
As leading sources for specialized medical care, training
and innovation, academic medical centers were selected "because
we thought they would be the best-case scenario," Larson said.
"We thought if we find problems there, we would assume that
they're only worse" at community hospitals.
University medical centers generally are not-for-profit but
still face financial pressures to attract patients and stay
afloat.
Hospital advertising began about 20 years ago and grew as
managed care increased competition among hospitals. The authors
said it has risen among academic medical centers in the past
decade.
Johns Hopkins spokeswoman Elaine Freeman said the study highlights
an important point — that academic medical centers need to
be sensitive to conflicts between money and altruism. But
Freeman said that advertising helps educate the public and
that Hopkins has a review process to make sure its ads are
fair and balanced.
Vanderbilt spokesman Joel Lee also said his hospital's ads
are ethical, including the one featuring spilled coffee. He
said that ad was intended to create awareness about women's
heart attack symptoms differing from men's.
"Hospitals ought to be able to describe that they're offering
something of benefit," Lee said.
University of Chicago Hospitals' spokeswoman Catherine Gianaro
said: "If any institution or company didn't remain economically
viable, they wouldn't be able to serve the public health."
American Hospital Association spokesman Rick Wade said that
advertising is a necessity for hospitals, and that appealing
to emotion is inherent in advertising. According to AHA guidelines,
emotion-evoking ads are acceptable if they maintain "a proper
sensitivity" toward vulnerable patients, and are fair and
accurate, Wade said.
The guidelines also frown on ads for risky procedures that
do not disclose the risks, he said.
