Advertising by academic medical centers

Area of Science:

• Medical Marketing
• Healthcare Advertising
• Academic Medical Centers

Background:

• Academic medical centers increasingly use advertising to recruit patients.
• Previous research has focused on pharmaceutical advertising, not academic medical center ads.
• This study characterizes advertising practices of leading academic medical centers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the advertising practices of top-ranked academic medical centers in the United States.
• To analyze the content and strategies used in patient-attracting advertisements.
• To compare oversight mechanisms for patient advertising versus research advertising.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 17 top-ranked academic medical centers regarding advertising practices.
• Systematically analyzed 127 non-research-related print advertisements from 2002.
• Conducted semistructured interviews concerning advertising strategies and oversight.

Main Results:

• 16 of 17 centers advertised to attract patients; none had patient ad oversight comparable to research ad oversight.
• 122 of 127 ads targeted patients, promoting departments or specific interventions.
• Common strategies included emotional appeals, prestige, and unquantified benefits, with some ads promoting unproved or cosmetic procedures.

Conclusions:

• Patient-attracting advertising is prevalent in top academic medical centers but lacks robust oversight.
• Advertising practices may prioritize institutional interests over patient welfare.
• A need exists for standardized oversight of healthcare advertising to ensure patient protection.