Some health care advocates criticized the spending, calling the two-and-a-half million dollar budget over two years “completely indefensible.” But hospital advertising has always had a controversial history in the US. Up until 1980, the American Medical Association banned it. The AMA code of ethics from 1847 considered hospital advertising to be “derogatory to the dignity of the profession.” However, in 1980 a circuit appellate court ruled that such restraints on advertising violated the Federal Trade Commission Act protecting free commerce. Today, hospital advertising still continues to be a contentious topic. Some believe that hospital advertising presents significant danger of misinforming potential patients. Amid concerns that patients might be misled, some have discussed whether hospital advertising should be regulated in the same way that …show more content…
In addition to attracting more donations and paying patients, Grady officials believed a successful marketing campaign would enhance Grady’s ability to influence state lawmakers and boost collaboration with other hospitals. All those were needed to keep Grady stable down the line. Grady had a huge mountain to climb in order to turn around its portrayal of what many considered a hospital that served poor people and primarily handled gunshots and car crashes. The new campaign would highlight Grady’s major burn and poison centers, its designated cancer center of excellence, and the fact that it trains one in four doctors in Georgia. This idea was far different from Grady’s typical public relations in the past, and example of which was a bumper sticker that highlighted the hospital’s trauma care: It said, “If I’m in a car crash, take me to Grady.” But Grady was more than that. Its officials believed it could rank among the best hospitals in the country. One only had to read their mission statement, their vision for the future and their values to understand what the officials