Legal Examination of Physician Advertising on the Internet

ABSTRACT

The Internet provides an invaluable resource to physicians seeking to market healthcare services to consumers. No longer considered an unethical practice, physician advertising has transformed over the years into an indispensable business tool in the medical community. While the Internet creates opportunities to reach vast numbers of individuals in a timely and cost-effective manner, physicians must be vigilant in adhering to laws, rules, and regulations designed to protect the public from false and deceptive practices.

KEYWORDS

American Medical Association - Federal Trade Commision - general jurisdiction - hyperlink - Internet - long-arm justice - pop-up - specific jurisdiction - telemedicine - terms and conditions of use - U.S. Food and Drug Administration - website

REFERENCES

• 1 Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. §45(a)(1). 
• 2 FTC Docket No. 9064
• 3 American Medical Ass'n. v FTC, 94 F.T.C. 701, 993-96 (1979) (enforced as modified), 638 F. 2d 443 (2d Cir. 1980), affirmed by an equally divided court 455 U.S. 676 (1982). 
• 4 AMA Professionalism Opinion on Ethical Standards, E.5.02. Advertising and Publicity (issued prior to April 1977, Updated June 1996, August 2005). 
• 5 American Medical Association .Guidelines for Medical and Health Information Sites on the Internet. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1905.html
• 6 The FDA website. Available at: http://www.fda.gov
• 7 Kulko v Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84 (1978)
• 8 International Shoe v Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945)
• 9 Zippo Mfg. Co. v Zippo Dot Com., Inc., 952 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D. Pa. 1997)
• 10 CompuServe, Inc. v Patterson, 89 F.3d 1257 (6th Cir. 1996)
• 11 Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v King, 126 F.3d 25 (2d Cir. 1997); Inset Sys. v Instruction Set, Inc., 937 F. Supp. 161 (D. Conn. 1996)
• 12 Denver Area Edu. Telecomm. Consortium v F.C.C., 518 U.S. 727 (1996) (Souter, J. concurring)