Physicians and advertising

In this study, although the majority of responding physicians seemed to perceive advertising as not having an impact on the medical marketplace, the results concerning the medical profession appear quite different. In addition to soundly rejecting advertising as a communication mode in their profession, the physicians felt strongly that it would damage the profession's public image, plus promote fraud and hucksterism. A majority of respondents even went so far as to state that advertising would cause the quality of care to deteriorate. A majority also felt that advertising is ethically wrong for physicians. From these results, it seems that these physicians were not as concerned about the evils of advertising, per se, as the manner in which advertising would be applied by their colleagues to undermine the profession. It is very clear from the factor analysis that the major dimension of these physicians' attitudes toward advertising pertained to concern for the image of the profession, although economic and media communications aspects were of some importance. The question items loading most heavily on the IMAGE factor reflect perceptions that advertising will impact on the quality of care, promote fraud and hucksterism, convey a negative public image, etc. Thus, the primary focus of the physicians' negative attitudes does not seem to be toward the economic consequences, nor toward advertising as a societal entity. But, the major element for negativity is the way in which advertising would be applied by medical practitioners. More specifically, physicians believed that it would be applied in an unprofessional, unethical manner. Results of the factor analysis imply that the negativity focused upon advertising is really directed toward uncertainty pertaining to the ethics of medical practitioners and the way in which these ethics would be projected through media and other communications vehicles.