Playing On Fear And Fun, Hospitals Follow Pharma In Direct-To-Consumer Advertising

(By Shefali Luthra for Kaiser Health News)

The scene is shadowy, and the background music foreboding. On the TV screen, a stream of beleaguered humans stand in an unending line.

“If you’re waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life,” warns the narrator.

One man pulls another out of the queue, signaling an escape. Both smile.

Is this a dystopian video game? Gritty drama? Neither. It is a commercial for the living-donor liver transplant center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an academic hospital embroiled in a high-profile battle with the region’s dominant health plan and now making a play to a national audience. Continue reading article here…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Notice: The link provided above connects readers to the full content of the posted article. The URL (internet address) for this link is valid on the posted date; medicarereport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the link’s validity. Also, the opinions expressed in these postings are the viewpoints of the original source and are not explicitly endorsed by AMAC, Inc.; the AMAC Foundation, Inc.; or medicarereport.org.