Ethe Ethical Framework

EThe article Ethics and Advertising published in Healthcare Management Ethics Journal raises the issue of ethical framework in the marketing campaign of the healthcare organization. The authors, William A. Nelson and Emily C. Taylor, aim to identify the role of the ethical process for the healthcare advertising. The article focuses on the needs and principles of the healthcare facility to develop ethics guidelines for hospital advertising campaigns (Nelson & Taylor, 2012).

Advertising in healthcare is a significant issue with serious ethical implications. Hospitals or clinics, at a certain point, may feel the need to advertise in order to establish or increase their operational volumes. As health care representatives are bound by a code of

This form of communication can be extremely affective in achieving the major objectives set by the organization.

b. Advertising is considered as the major tool of increasing consumption.

There will be always a market segment that does not know much about the services the particular facility offers. Thus, marketing campaign prospects and brochures or any other kind of advertising may be a great tool for consumers to form an opinion.

The field of advertising is quite broad. Generally, it has two basic purposes, namely, to inform and to persuade. Hospital advertising aims to capture attention to the services and products offered by the healthcare facility. The article suggests two types of advertising, in particular, direct and indirect. Direct advertising is focused on promoting services, treatments, and procedures; meanwhile, the indirect one is based on highlighting recent success to improve the business state. Thus, advertising in the healthcare industry manages to target specific audience by means of information about specific services eligible for this market

The importance of the ethical basis for the healthcare facilities.

When healthcare organizations become more focused on organizational and business ethics, it is logical to think about the certain standards for the marketing efforts of each particular facility.

The hospital and other types of healthcare facilities should ensure that the contents of their advertisements convey the vision, mission, and values of the organization. Thus, the message delivered by the hospital must be ethically grounded on the general and business principles of ethics. Thus, advertising within the healthcare facilities is unethical when it contains false and deceptive statements, including those mislead by omitting necessary information. Unethical marketing can ultimately be harmful to the organization by ruining its reputation as a trustworthy facility where people can refer to.

d. Formal review process in place.

The formal process in place allows reviewing the hospital advertisements. Without proper analysis of the advertising campaign, there is no chance to check whether the information conveyed is sound and ethically grounded. Hospital management should lead the organizations in creating a culture for responsible advertising. The process of reviewing the advertisement content should be accomplished by the marketing department in close collaboration with the hospital’s leadership and ethics