Rift widens in medical profession over calls to advertise
To some, it's a heinous breach of ethics: a cheap, commercial degeneration of a profession held in high esteem. Others see a levelling of the playing field, a harmless tool necessary to survive in a fiercely competitive market.
Advertising has long been an emotive topic that has polarised the medical profession. Last month, the debate moved up a gear as a group of practitioners threatened to wield their collective legal might and confront the issue head on, by taking the Medical Council to court. The professional regulator was given a three-month ultimatum to reverse a ban, leaving the prospect of litigation early next year that could turn the issue into a human rights crusade.
At the crux of the debate is the reality of the business of medicine in Hong Kong, where some doctors are able to circumvent ethical rules and peddle their wares. The fact that private hospitals and clinics can openly tout for business has, in particular, riled some practitioners seeking to compete for a slice of the more lucrative private market, and gives credence to their cause.
The experience of this skewed landscape, however, has many doctors concerned: what advertising there already is may not always be in the best interest of the consumer. Nor would the profession as a whole necessarily have much to gain should the rules change.
Current ethical codes ban doctors from claiming superiority over another, publishing their fees or information about their experience. Nor are they allowed to publicise new findings, revolutionary surgery techniques or success rates. This can be read as self-promotion.
Penalties against offenders have often been harsh: doctors at the end of disciplinary proceedings can find themselves struck off the medical register. Those who surreptitiously advertise under the guise of private hospitals or companies have also incurred the wrath of the regulator. For example, in 1995 a doctor fell foul of the Medical Council for canvassing for patients through a beauty parlour.
