Behandlungsfehler in der Medizin
Ausgabe: 3/2007
53. Jahrgang
Ethische Argumente für und wider werbeorientiertes Marketing von Ärzten und Krankenhäusern
The strict prohibition of advertising for physicians and hospitals has given way to a more liberal regulatory regime. The article first discusses the ethical, legal and social reasons for this change, including patients rights to information, doctors freedom to practise their profession and the growing impact of e-health. The move towards more relaxed advertising rules, which is taking place throughout the world, must be accompanied by moral deliberation although medical ethics has hitherto dealt with marketing and advertising only at the margins. Secondly, the article discusses the most important ethical reasons for restricting the freedom to advertise, i.e. characteristics of medical practice (required specialized knowledge for decision-making, emergency situations with patients), the physician-patient relationship, and particularities of the medical profession itself, which if undermined may threaten patients health. The author defends the view that (i) there is middle ground between the extremes of a totally free economy and a total ban on marketing, and (ii) the changes in this field represent an opportunity to broaden ethical reflection.
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