J Med Ethics. 2014 Mar;40(3):198-201. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2012-101078. Epub 2013 Apr 4.
Although the adverse implications of physician advertising are the subject of a fierce and sustained debate, there is almost no scholarly discussion on the ethical repercussions of physician advertising bans. The present paper draws attention to these repercussions as they exist today in most of the world, with particular focus on three serious implications for the public: (a) uncertainty about the physician's interests, namely, that patients must trust the physician to put patient wellbeing ahead of possible gains when taking medical decisions; (b) uncertainty about alternative treatments, namely, that patients must trust in the physician's treatment decisions; and (c) uncertainty about the exclusive patient-physician relationship, namely, that patients must develop and maintain a good relationship with one physician. Physician advertising bans continue to tell the public in most of the modern world that these are irrelevant or inappropriate issues, meaning that they are effectively left to the public to resolve.
尽管医生广告的负面影响是一个激烈而持续的争论主题，但几乎没有学者讨论医生广告禁令的伦理后果。本文提请注意当今世界大多数国家存在的这些后果，特别关注对公众的三个严重影响：(a) 对医生利益的不确定性，即患者在做出医疗决策时必须相信医生会将患者的福祉置于可能的利益之前；(b) 对替代治疗的不确定性，即患者必须相信医生的治疗决策；以及 (c) 对医患专属关系的不确定性，即患者必须与一名医生建立并维持良好的关系。在世界上大多数地方，医生广告禁令继续告诉公众，这些是无关紧要或不适当的问题，这意味着实际上是让公众自行解决这些问题。
