Doctors who tout iffy "cures" will face critical eye of FTC

Doctors should check out the scientific proof and evaluate financial motives before deciding whether to endorse a product on TV.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Sept. 27, 2004.

Physicians setting out to appear in infomercials or television ads need to be worried about far more than whether they're having a good hair day.

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it's taking a closer, more critical look at doctors who endorse products, such as baldness cures and weight-loss remedies, on television.

Doctors who tout products that aren't scientifically sound could face financial penalties, legal orders that would stop them from appearing in future commercials and the risk of negative publicity.

"These commercials, which are growing in number, taint the whole profession," said FTC Commissioner Tom Leary. "Doctors still have a high level of esteem in the United States."

That level of esteem, Leary said, gives added credibility to a product when a physician endorses it -- a credibility that couldn't be achieved if someone without medical training was doing the promotion.

The American Medical Association supports the FTC's decision to look more closely at doctors who support products in infomercials and other television advertisements. The Association has policy that backs the commission's enforcement efforts and the FTC's rules on expert endorsements.

AMA President-elect J. Edward Hill, MD, agrees that the public is more likely to find a product more believable if a physician endorses it. He said doctors promoting products should use the same scientific standards they would apply when they are treating a patient in the office and deciding the best course of treatment.