Editor’s Corner: Healthcare Marketing and You

Over the past few months, physicians have been repeatedly called out on their role—whether active or passive—in healthcare marketing.

First, a BMJ article drew attention to how many press releases positively spin the results of biomedical and health-related research studies. In today’s world of sharing and tweeting, these soon translate into far-reaching news.

Another paper, this time in JAMA Internal Medicine, took issue with the way US hospital websites present TAVR to the public. Nearly all of the 262 sites cited benefits, but only one-quarter listed at least 1 risk.

Most dramatically, ProPublica ran an eye-opening story in early January on reality TV and privacy—or the lack thereof—in the ABC series NY Med. A dying man was filmed in an emergency department without his family’s permission. Only when the episode aired in 2012 did his wife realize that the stranger onscreen with a blurred face was her husband.

Though the legal consequences of this specific case are unresolved, it has already led to debate over the unclear boundaries of HIPAA and the emerging tug of war between entertainment and patient care.

Finally, just last week, a blog post on the Columbia Journalism Review website pointed out that “physician journalists” appearing on national television rarely disclose conflicts of interest.

All of these examples should inspire doctors to reflect on whether they sometimes put their own “brand” ahead of patient care. (Full disclosure: in an earlier job, I enjoyed working in communications at an academic medical center.) It is very easy to see each chance for publicity, whether a press release, outreach to referring physicians, a patient education website, or an interview on the local news, as necessary for the greater good. Not only that, it is fun and rewarding to be recognized by the wider world.

Yet each small choice contributes to where medicine is heading. Is healthcare a commodity to be promoted like any other product? Few would answer yes to that question. What can physicians do to encourage the availability of honest, scientifically accurate advice? When the marketers push you, do you push back?

If you have feedback on how you have dealt with pressures to market medicine, share them with us.